The dangers of leaving children, pets in locked cars in the summer heat
The father had left the children in the care of a friend unbeknown to him that the friend would go shopping leaving his children trapped in a locked car.
With the summer heat very much on – the mercury is expected to rise to 36 degrees today with no let up for much of the week -, Netcare 911 has warned of the dangers of leaving children and pets unattended in locked vehicles.
Tebogo Magoro, Netcare’s Marketing and Communication Officer, has told of an incident in Pretoria on Sunday afternoon after they received a call from a concerned member of the public regarding five children left in a ford double cab unattended with no open windows.
The children aged 4, 7, 9, and 11 years were trapped, when the 11 year old started panicking members of the public noticed what was going on. They tried to explain to the 11 year old how to unlock the vehicle but she couldn’t. One managed to get a hold of the father who then gave them permission to break one of the back windows to get the children out. The father had left the children in the care of a friend unbeknown to him that the friend would go shopping leaving his children trapped in a locked car.
On arrival Netcare 911 assessed all 5 children and they were found to be in good health. According to one of the security guards the vehicle had been standing out in the sun for three to four hours. The father came to fetch his children and SAPS was on the scene.
