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(Correction: An earlier version of the media advisory did not include Louisiana State Police Superintendent Col. Robert Hodges as one of the speakers. We apologize for the error.)
The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 1, in recognition of National Heatstroke Prevention Day, a campaign to remind drivers to never leave a child unattended in a vehicle. Governor Jeff Landry has proclaimed May 1, 2024 Child Heatstroke Prevention Day in Louisiana.
The news conference will take place at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy, 7919 Independence Blvd., in Baton Rouge (see map below).
Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke can happen very quickly in a parked car. Temperatures inside an unattended vehicle can rise 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit in as little as 15 minutes. Since records were first kept 25 years ago, 36 children have died from Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke in Louisiana, the highest per capita number of deaths in any state.
Participants in Wednesday’s news conference will be Lisa Freeman, LHSC Executive Director; Lt. Colonel Mark Oxley (retired, Louisiana State Police), Vice-Chair, LHSC Board of Commissioners; Liz Murrill, Louisiana Attorney General; Louisiana State Police Superintendent Col. Robert Hodges; Dr. Maggi Gunnels, Region 6 Administrator in Ft. Worth, Texas, for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Dr. Gina Lagarde, pediatrician, chair of the State Child Death Review Panel, and Regional Administrator and Medical Director of Southeast Region 9 of the Louisiana Department of Health’s Office of Public Health; and Torine Creppy, president of Safe Kids Worldwide, headquartered in Silver Spring, MD.
The news conference is expected to take about 30 minutes. LHSC will use an oversized thermometer (courtesy of Safe Kids Worldwide) to demonstrate how quickly temperatures can rise in a parked vehicle.
WHO: Louisiana Highway Safety Commission
WHAT: Campaign to remind people to never leave a child in a parked vehicle.
WHEN: 11 a.m., Wednesday, May 1, 2024
WHERE: Louisiana State Police Training Academy, 7919 Independence Blvd., Baton Rouge.
WHY: State and national officials are working together to raise awareness among parents and caregivers that summer temperatures can have devastating effects on children who are left in an unattended vehicle.
For more information, please contact Gregory Fischer, LHSC Public Information Officer, at 225-925-7858, gregory.fischer@la.gov; or Mark Lambert, Lambert Media, at 225-937-8113, mark@lambert-media.com.
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