Tips from locksmith to avoid hot vehicle deaths

SALINA, Kan. (KWCH) - The National Child Passenger Safety Board warns that your car can warm up to nearly 100 degrees after just a few minutes on an 80-degree day. This situation quickly becomes deadly for any child left inside.

Burgess Locksmith in Salina will unlock cars for free if a child is stuck inside.

“In a month we may get three, four, five; the way I always look at it is it’s life and death if I do not get there in a prompt time and get that car open, it can get extremely hot in a car that’s not running with no A/C so I’ve got to get there and do my job as quickly as I can,” said Cooper Brown, security manager at Burgess Locksmith.

Over 50% of children who die from the heat in cars are left in the vehicle because the driver forgot they were in the back, according to the National Safety Council.

Brown says he’s seen it before. “There are some cases where I’ve had customers then they just flat out forgot that they, kid fell asleep in the back seat, a little peace and quiet and they forgot all about them back there.”

Brown said the best way to avoid these situations is to have an extra hide key.

“A hide-a-key definitely somewhere on your vehicle; they make a lot of different things that you can hide it behind a license plate or in a gas cap or underneath a wheel well type deal but always have another means of getting into your car.”