ANN ARBOR, MI - Whether it's snowing, cool and sunny or a sweltering 90 degree day, it's never a good idea to leave children unattended in a parked car - for any length of time, even if the windows are down and the doors are locked.

As Michigan begins to move toward warmer summer temperatures, Wayne County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Duggan, along with health and safety experts from the University of Michigan Health System and other organizations, is warning metro-Detroit residents today of the risks involved with leaving infants and young children alone in a car on a hot day.

Last year alone, four children in Wayne County died of hyperthermia, or heat stroke, from being locked inside an unattended car. This year, Duggan is spreading the word that he plans to prosecute all cases where children are left unattended in cars and exposed to high temperatures - jeopardizing their health or even resulting in death - as a child abuse case.

According to Elaine Pomeranz, M.D., the medical director for the Child Protection Team at the University of Michigan Health System, who is joining Duggan today in his effort to prevent parents from leaving their children unattended in cars, heat exhaustion and heat stroke can occur rapidly in enclosed vehicles. And the same goes for hypothermia in cold weather.

"The younger they are, the more dangerous it is for children to be left in a car in extreme heat or cold temperatures," says Pomeranz. "But parents need to keep in mind that hyperthermia from extreme heat is by no means the only danger involved with leaving a child alone in a car. Children left unattended are susceptible to both health and safety risks - no matter what the weather's like outside."

To help parents and guardians best understand the risks involved with leaving young children and infants alone in cars, Pomeranz provides both safety and health information for them to take into consideration throughout the year.

A child's health:

• Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can occur rapidly in enclosed vehicles. A recent General Motors and SAFE KIDS Coalition study found that children are more vulnerable to heat because a child's body temperature increases three to five times faster than that of an adult. Heat stroke in infants is primarily associated with increased environmental temperatures or poor fluid intake.
  
• According to SAFE KIDS, an average of 25 American children die each year as the result of being left in a car on a warm day.
  
• On a 93-degree day, the inside of a car can exceed 125 degree Fahrenheit in about 20 minutes. The temperature inside of a car is hotter than outside temperatures, and can climb rapidly.
  
• Heat stroke occurs rapidly in infants who are ill or have other predisposed health conditions - but even healthy infants are at high risk when left in a hot car.
  
• Heat stroke can occur in a matter of minutes for young children and infants.
  
• With heat stroke, children's skin become red and dry, and they are unable to produce sweat to reduce their core body temperature. Children's heart rates then quicken, and they eventually become confused and lose consciousness before their organ systems begin to fail.
  
• "Cracking" the windows enough to let in air but to keep others out is not an effective way to avoid the heat risks involved with leaving a child alone in a car on a hot day.
  
• Adults are less sensitive to heat than young children. So even if temperature inside of a car doesn't feel to hot for an adult, it may be fatal toll for young children.
  
• Seek emergency medical attention if you know or think that your child has been exposed to high temperatures by having been left in or accidentally trapped in a car.

A child's personal safety:

• Cars are not always child proof. If left unattended, children may be able to reach the cigarette lighter and burn themselves; to shift the car from the parked position, endangering themselves and others around them; or to become entangled in the seat belt.
• Never leave the keys in the car. A child who is able to remove himself from restraints or enter into a car may be able to turn on the car, which may result in personal injury or injury to others nearby.
  
• Children left alone in a car are also at risk for being abducted by an adult.
  
• Teach your child never to play in the trunk. Keep the rear fold-down seats closed to help prevent kids from getting into the trunk from inside the car.
  
• Teach children not to play in or around cars.
  
• Never let infants sleep unattended in the car.
  
• If your child gets locked inside a car, dial 9-1-1 or your local emergency number immediately.
  

Written by: Krista Hopson

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