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Texas Rangers Investigate Fifth Pediatric Heatstroke Death as State Toll Hits Five

Caregivers are being urged to use memory aids like placing personal items in back seats to reduce preventable child heatstroke deaths

Kristen Beckworth, injury prevention manager for Texas Children’s Hospital, demonstrates the temperature difference inside and outside of a vehicle at Houston TranStar during a press conference and demonstration about vehicles getting too hot for a person to withstand inside during the heat, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 in Houston.
Dr. Anthony Arredondo speaks at Houston TranStar during a press conference and demonstration about vehicles getting too hot for a person to withstand inside during the heat, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 in Houston.
Kristen Beckworth, injury prevention manager for Texas Children’s Hospital, demonstrates the temperature difference inside and outside of a vehicle at Houston TranStar during a press conference and demonstration about vehicles getting too hot for a person to withstand inside during the heat, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 in Houston.
A 4-year-old girl was found dead in a hot car in Poteet, marking Texas’ fifth child heatstroke death in a vehicle this year.

Overview

  • Texas Rangers are probing after a 4-year-old girl was found unresponsive in a Poteet vehicle as outside temperatures neared 100 °F.
  • The latest fatality marks Texas’s fifth and the 18th nationwide pediatric hot-car death of 2025, according to KidsandCars.org.
  • Experts at Texas Children’s Hospital warn that vehicle interiors can spike to 140 – 150 °F within minutes, dehydrating children faster than adults.
  • Houston TranStar data show 52 % of child heatstroke cases result from caregivers unintentionally forgetting children in cars.
  • Safety advocates recommend placing personal items in rear seats to trigger reminder alerts, reducing the chance of leaving children behind.