MIAMISBURG, Ohio -- An average of 37 children die in hot cars each year from heat-related deaths, which is why Ohio-based car seat maker Evenflo developed a product in 2015 to combat the problem.
The “Embrace DLX Infant Car Seat” has “sensor-safe” technology and plugs into the vehicle’s onboard diagnostic port -- a feature available in cars made since 2008, said Evenflo’s Director of Product Management Jon Conway.
The seat’s plug-in receive links to a sensor inside the chest clip of the car seat. It establishes a link once the child is clipped in and the car starts rolling. When the parent turns off the ignition, the sensor gives off an alert sound.
“It’s a shame that somebody is that busy, has that pressure in their life, that they forget what should be most important to them,” Andrew Glassmeyer, father of two, told WCPO in 2015.
But that's exactly what happened in a Mason parking lot on Wednesday, and 10 years earlier to the day at the Glen Este Middle School parking lot.
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration data shows that 700 children died in related incidents from 1998 to 2016. The car seat is one solution to this problem and retails for $150 on Evenflo's website and cheaper at Walmart and other stores.
“There are probably going to be some people that would find some comfort in that,” Glassmeyer said.
