2 toddlers found dead in Oklahoma hot car tragedy, police say
NORMAN, Okla. - Two toddlers were found lifeless inside a parked car in Oklahoma as temperatures soared to 90 degrees, according to authorities.
The 2-year-old toddlers were found by family members who had been searching for them around 3 p.m. Thursday in Norman. Initial investigations suggest that the children were accidentally left in the vehicle for an extended period, according to the Norman Police Department.
A medical examiner will determine the official cause of death, but the circumstances point to heatstroke as a likely factor.
Over the past 25 years, more than 970 children have died of heatstroke, because they were left or became trapped in a hot car, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports.
Every year on average, 37 children die in hot cars. (Photo illustration / FOX Weather)
WHEN SECONDS MATTER: CHILDREN EXPERIENCE HEATSTROKE SYMPTOMS WITHIN MINUTES OF BEING IN A HOT CAR
Thursday's tragic event marks the 28th and 29th child deaths in hot cars nationwide this year, according to Kids and Car Safety. This is the first hot car death of the year to occur in Oklahoma.
Oklahoma has a grim history of child hot car deaths, with at least 32 such incidents reported since 1997, according to data collected by Kids and Car Safety. This places the state at 11th in the nation for the highest number of these tragic occurrences.