Parents advised to prevent tragedies
While Wednesday’s tragic death is unusual, other types of accidents involving young children and empty vehicles are not. Jacqueline Woods has more.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Sgt. Gilbert Pitts, the officer in charge of the Zone Beat Liaison Programme, says they are saddened by the death of two-year-old Cordell. Pitts says the department has been warning the public that accidents like this could happen if children are left to play around abandoned vehicles.
Sgt. Gilbert Pitts, Officer in Charge, Z.B.L.O.
“That is a very tragic situation and we ask the parents to always pay attention to the kids, especially when they’re out playing. This is a time when kids are out of school and around playing, so if they don’t have anything constructive to do, we ask the parents to please find something for them and pay attention at all times. Because like that situation there where they got in the car, when the sun is up it’s very hot, and especially if the windows are up, inside the car becomes twice as hot as outside. And if you can’t get fresh air, you will suffocate like what happened to that child.”
“The situation is very bad. As a matter of fact, the Z.B.L.O. goes into the communities and we find that old cars are parked on the side of the street, been there for a long time, we would make a report on it. Or we’ll send a letter to the City Council or we call them and ask them to pull the car away. Or old refrigerators, they are abandoned and sometimes when the kids are playing around they love to go and play in these things. Sometimes they lock and they cannot get it open and if the other kids don’t pay attention to see where they’re hiding, they would just stay there and it could end up in a fatality.”
Pitts says because children are easily bored and very curious, parents should be careful when children are on holidays and take the necessary steps to keep them safe, especially when taking them for a ride and you need to make a stop.
Sgt. Gilbert Pitts
“Always make sure that the keys are not left in the vehicle and if it’s a stick shift, you put it in gear and always apply your parking brakes, because kids will always be tampering with stuff if you leave them unattended. So this is one of the safety tips that we try to give all adults. If you have to leave the car, leave it with an adult inside who always know exactly what to do and how to take care of the situation. But kids by themselves, you must make sure the safety features…here is the parking brake, it must be applied, make sure it’s not in gear and the glass is always a little bit down so that fresh air could ventilate through the car at all time.”
“On the street side, kids love to go play in these abandoned vehicles. And sometimes our concern is that they may get cut or snakes might be wandering these vehicles because they’re left abandoned. So we talk to the City Council and ask them to have the vehicle pulled out of the area. Most people have abandoned car in the yard and they have no use for it, maybe they can get in touch with me and I can call the City Council and ask if they could have the vehicle removed from the area, because it is dangerous to have abandoned vehicle around.”
Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
