A Louisiana father, 32-year-old Joseph Boatman of Hammond, has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly leaving his 21-month-old daughter inside a hot car for over nine hours, leading to her death. According to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Boatman was arrested on Sunday after the child died outside a home in Madisonville. Detectives stated that Boatman had strapped the toddler in her car seat after picking her up from a family member’s residence shortly after 2:30 a.m. and then never returned to the vehicle. Police noted that Boatman had consumed multiple alcoholic beverages prior to arriving to pick up his daughter. The incident occurred in an area with temperatures around 90 degrees, and the child was found unresponsive inside the vehicle by a family member shortly before noon. The sheriff described the tragedy as a devastating loss and emphasized the dangers of leaving a child in a vehicle, especially during high heat.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration highlights the risk of heatstroke in children left in vehicles, noting that 39 children died of heatstroke in vehicles in 2024, a 35% increase from 2023. The NHTSA also says, ‘Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended for any length of time,’ and, ‘Rolling windows down or parking in the shade does little to change the interior temperature of the vehicle.’ The website No Heat Stroke, which tracks the deaths of children inside hot cars in the U.S., said it was the fifth instance this year, following cases in New Mexico, California, Maryland, and New Jersey. A child’s body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult’s. When a child is left in a vehicle, that child’s temperature can rise quickly – and the situation can quickly become dangerous.
The case is part of a growing trend of preventable tragedies involving children left in hot cars. Parents who have lost children in such incidents are urging others to be vigilant and take precautions. In a related case, a Florida woman was given the maximum sentence in the death of her infant granddaughter after leaving her in a hot car. These incidents serve as a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving children in vehicles and the importance of awareness and education to prevent future tragedies.