July deadliest month for kids in hot cars as Florida investigations rise

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)—The death of a 17-month-old girl found inside a hot car on Tuesday remains under investigation.

At The Vine Church off College Parkway in Fort Myers, church members are still stunned about the tragic death that occurred in their parking lot.

"We are supporting our family, our church, and our community in prayer, and are here to actually make a change in this community," Pastor Raphael Felix said.

Pastor Felix said the 17-month-old was not one of the students at the church, but questions about what happened still remain.

• RELATED: Grief and unanswered questions remain after 17-month-old girl’s tragic death in Lee County

July is the deadliest month for kids in cars, according to the National Safety Council.

Most new cars now have what are called rear-seat reminders.

If the rear door has been opened within 10 minutes of the engine starting, then once the car is turned off, a reminder appears to check the backseat. However, one leading safety organization says that's not enough.

"Every case is heartbreaking. You know, one case is too many," Chloe Burke with Kids and Car Safety said.

Kids and Car Safety, a non-profit dedicated to helping protect kids and pets in cars, said this was the fifth child to die in a hot car in Florida this year.

There are 15 under investigation nationwide.

Burke said while rear-seat reminders can be helpful, they cannot be relied on entirely.

"We've seen this fail. We've so far recorded 14 beautiful babies who have lost their lives with end of trip reminders that were in their vehicle," Burke said.

The organization said Florida has had 123 kids die in hot cars since 1990, when they first started keeping track of the data. That's second in the country only behind Texas.

While summer is the deadliest season, the organization has tracked hot car deaths in every month of the year.

"End of trip reminders are not enough," Burke said. "Kids and car safety has been pushing for more technology to be added to vehicles, specifically sensors that can detect children or pets, anything that's left behind in a vehicle, and let out an interior and exterior reminder that there's still a child present."

Rear-seat reminders are only triggered when the rear door is opened before the car is started. If someone stops to fill up with gas, turns off the engine, fills up, then starts the car again without opening the back seat, the rear-seat reminder will not go off.

Experts say until there's new technology, always check the back seat.