Triple-digit temperatures are set to roll back into the Las Vegas Valley next week, and local doctors are sounding an all-too-familiar alarm: do not leave children alone in parked cars, not even for a minute. Sunrise Children’s Hospital and Safe Kids Clark County teamed up this week to show just how fast a vehicle can turn deadly, even when the weather feels relatively mild. With national hot-car deaths still happening every year, health officials say a few basic habits can literally be the difference between life and death.
Sunrise's demonstration, held May 29, was designed to drive home how quickly a passenger compartment can overheat and to remind caregivers that a quiet child strapped into a back seat can be in serious trouble, according to KSNV. The outlet also reported that three children elsewhere in the United States died in hot-car incidents in a single day last week, a grim snapshot of how fast these tragedies can pile up.
Hospital staff and Safe Kids leaders walked through prevention steps and shared a jarring local number: Clark County's 911 system received more than 300 calls last year for children locked in vehicles, organizers said during the event. "These tragedies happen far too often. They are heartbreaking and preventable," Sunrise CEO Todd P. Sklamberg told KTNV.
National figures put the danger in perspective. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 31 children died from vehicular heatstroke in 2025 and notes that the temperature inside a parked car can climb roughly 20 degrees in about 10 minutes. Forecast products from the National Weather Service have already flagged excessive-heat conditions for parts of Southern Nevada in late May, which makes those rapid interior spikes especially dangerous for any child left alone in a vehicle.
Why Cars Become Deadly So Fast
Children’s bodies heat up three to five times faster than adults, so their internal temperature can reach life-threatening levels in just a few minutes. A review by researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that while there is no single fail-safe technology, keeping the air conditioning running or using layered alert systems would have prevented a large portion of recent pediatric heatstroke deaths in vehicles.
Local Advice and Resources
Safety advocates are urging caregivers to follow a simple checklist known as ACT: Avoid leaving a child alone in a vehicle, Create reminders by putting something you need, like a phone, purse or shoe, in the back seat, and Take action if you see a child alone in a car. Safe Kids and hospital staff walked through those steps during the demonstration, and coverage from KTNV lays out the guidance. National campaigns from the NHTSA echo the same theme with the slogan "Stop. Look. Lock." as a daily habit for parents and caregivers.
When to Call 911 and Where to Get Help
If you spot a child alone in a hot vehicle, officials say you should call 911 immediately and follow whatever instructions the dispatcher provides. In some cases, bystanders may need to intervene while waiting for emergency crews to arrive. Relief organizations such as the American Red Cross, Southern Nevada note that multi-day heat waves often trigger counties and nonprofits to open cooling centers and issue public alerts to protect vulnerable residents, including young children and pets.
With another round of triple digits on the horizon, Sunrise Children’s Hospital and its partners say they will ramp up outreach and keep pushing one core message: simple habits like checking the back seat, locking unattended vehicles and setting reminders save lives. For local resources and additional safety tips from the hospital's injury-prevention team, visit Sunrise Children’s Hospital or the heatstroke prevention page at Safe Kids.
