Arizona mother shares toddler’s hot car death story to prevent similar tragedies: ‘Keep her memory alive’

At least 1,097 children have died in hot cars nationwide since 1990 and at least another 7,500 survived with varying types and severities of injuries, according to data collected by Kids and Car Safety.

GILBERT, Ariz. – Amid the scorching summer heat, a sorrowful and preventable tragedy persists, claiming the lives of young children across the country.

Incidents of hot car deaths, resulting from children being inadvertently left in vehicles during soaring temperatures, are unbearable experiences for any family.

At least 1,097 children have died in hot cars nationwide since 1990 and at least another 7,500 survived with varying types and severities of injuries, according to data collected by Kids and Car Safety. Approximately 88% of children who die in hot cars are aged 3 or younger and the majority (55%) were unknowingly left by an otherwise loving, responsible parent or caregiver.

These tragic losses serve as a stark reminder of the dangers of a hot car and the critical importance of staying aware even when your routine is disrupted.

It’s been almost 5 years since the Jones family last heard Charly’s voice and saw her face.

(Angela Jones)

Remembering ‘the sassy one’

Angela Jones, the mother of 3-year-old Charlotte – Charly for short – sadly lost her daughter on Sept. 3, 2019.

“She was the light of our family,” Jones said. “She was the sassy one. The silly one. We miss her tremendously in our family, but we keep her memory alive.”

Jones shares her daughter’s story to raise awareness and offer hope, aiming to prevent other families from experiencing similar heartache and providing them with knowledge on how to avoid such a tragedy.

It was a typical hot Arizona afternoon following Labor Day, and the Jones family had a planned vacation to California the following day.

“I work away from home. My husband works from home,” Jones said. “It was a day where we were going to be out of our routine because our youngest, Charly, was not going to be going to preschool that day.”

On the day Charly passed away, her father ended up taking all three daughters with him in the morning, dropping off the older two at their elementary school, when he would have usually taken Charly to preschool.

“That morning, he made his way back home, not realizing when he got out of the truck that she was still inside, and he went inside to do his normal work,” Jones recalled.

It wasn’t until Jones called her husband on her lunch break and asked him what Charly was doing. Immediately in his voice, Jones could hear a panic.

“I knew something was very wrong,” she recalled, as her mind immediately went to the pool.

That wasn’t the case.

Angela Jones describes her daughter as a bright ray of sunshine, bringing laughter and joy into her family’s lives.

(Angela Jones)

How could this happen?

Charly was just 20 feet from her father in his truck in the driveway. Tragically, she didn’t make it.

“He was just out of routine that morning where he normally would drop them all off,” Jones said. “Never had the kids home with him. But that morning, he was supposed to have her, and events went into play.”

Why? How could this happen? These were some of the wide-range of emotions, in addition to anger and guilt, that the Jones family immediately felt.

“We never, in our craziest nightmares, would have ever thought that this could happen,” Jones said. “We did everything that we could to protect our children. Pool fences, outlet plugs … all the things that you do when you have kids to make your home safe.”

A hot car death was never something that crossed their minds.

“In speaking to so many families that this has happened to, the common factor is a lot of times you’re out of that routine, either someone else driving your child around or a different parent doing something different than they normally do,” Jones said.

Charly was such a character and had so much sass, her mother recalls.

(Angela Jones)

‘Going to keep happening’

The biggest thing that can save the most lives is having vehicle manufacturers insert a sensor inside the car that will sense a human in there, even when the car is not running, she adds.

“Not just a back seat alert, like a lot of cars have … it is not foolproof,” Jones said. “A handful of children have died even with these alerts in the vehicle. What needs to happen is an actual sensor.”

These types of sensors exist and are in some vehicles now. They are also very cost-effective, somewhere around the realm of $20.

“We need the National Highway Transportation Safety Advisory Board to pass the rule to have this law go into place and start happening,” Jones said. “Because if this law doesn’t go into effect, it’s just going to keep happening.”

Angela Jones hopes that her family’s experience will connect with other families and potentially prevent similar heartbreak from happening to others.

(Angela Jones)

Jones will continue to promote various safety measures for families until the implementation of sensors, like checking the backseat before exiting the car or placing an item in the backseat as a reminder.

“You can do all those things, but the thing that’s going to save the most lives is having that sensor in place,” she said. “Where if you do have that sensor, it can alert your phone. It would text you.”

That in itself, Jones said, would have saved her daughter.

“My husband was right there. He had his phone. He was working. It would have texted and said there was someone in the car,” she said.

Upon activation of the sensor, the vehicle would also emit a loud horn sound and initiate the process of lowering the windows. If there is no response to the preceding alerts, the car would then proceed to contact law enforcement.

“That’s what we really need,” Jones pleaded.