Leaving Child in Car in Florida Could Become Felony

Shannon Weidemann

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It is never a good idea to leave a child unattended in car and in the summer heat it could be deadly. The temperature inside of a closed car can easily rise 10 degrees in 5 minutes. The governor is about to sign a new law that makes leaving a child in a car a felony if the child dies or suffers injury.

"Their body temperature starts going up. It's a massive effect. It gets to the point, where their natural cooling isn't able to overcome the heat of the environment, " said Dr. Neil Reinhardt, an Emergency Room Physician at Tampa General Hospital.

Firefighters with Tampa Fire Rescue say they average a call a week to rescue a child in a car. Most of the time, it's an accident. A parent may have locked their keys along with their child, in the vehicle.

But it doesn't matter if it's an accident or not. Time is not on their side.

To prevent this from happening it is always best to bring your child with you, even if you are running into the store for just a minute.