Of the 19 children across the country who have died so far this year from being left unattended in a motor vehicle on a sunny day, none have occurred in Washington — and the state patrol is trying to keep it that way.
Washington State Patrol is encouraging adults to never leave a young child in a car alone, especially in warm weather.
According to the agency, on a day where temperatures are in the 60s, the temperature inside a car can exceed 110 degrees within one hour.
For children, these temperatures can be especially dangerous.
A child’s body will heat up three to five times faster than that of an adult, and children younger than 4 years old are at greatest risk for heat-related illness, the agency said in a release.