Sixteenth child dies this year after being left in hot car

So far into 2024, sixteenth children have died after being left in hot cars, according to a Kids and Car Safety analysis released on Tuesday after the latest incident. 

A child was left inside a vehicle in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Tuesday after a parent forgot to drop the baby off at daycare.

Kids and Car Safety said it is "aware of 3 additional child fatalities that could be hot car deaths pending autopsy results."

At least 45 children have died in hot cars in Louisiana since 1995, the group said, which makes it the "sixth worst state in the country" for incidents of child hot car deaths.

Kids and Car Safety emphasizes that technology exists to prevent these deaths and car companies should be implementing it into new vehicles. 

The group points to a provision inside of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that Biden signed in November 2021.

The law required the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to issue a rule for technology in all new cars to help prevent hot car deaths by November of 2023. A final rule has still not been adopted.

The NHTSA has been outspoken about hot car deaths over the years. Each year, the agency promotes its "look before you lock" campaign, which is designed to remind drivers with children or pets to check their backseat before exiting their vehicles.

The National Weather Service recently created a video to remind drivers to look before locking their vehicles and walking away.