When we hear about these cases of children forgotten in their car seats, left alone in the hot sun to die, our first reaction is to instinctively blame the parent or caregiver. We think, how could anyone forget about their own child for a moment, let alone hours? But the awful reality is that these tragedies happen to people from all walks of life. Many of the parents detailed in this book never thought such a thing could ever happen to them. They were wrong.

On average, 37 US children die each year after becoming trapped or forgotten in a hot vehicle. Between the years 1998 and 2014, 636 children perished inside a hot car in the United States. The numbers are staggering. The stories are heartbreaking. But what can we do about it?

In Backseat Tragedies: Hot Car Deaths, best-selling true crime authors RJ Parker and JJ Slate explore the circumstances that led to the deaths of over 20 children who died of hyperthermia, or heatstroke, in a car. They explore the science of how quickly a car can heat to deadly temperatures and why the human brain can so easily be tricked into forgetting something as important as a child. They also highlight important steps we can take as a community to prevent future casualties. Spreading awareness about the reality of hot car deaths is the first step toward eliminating these tragedies.

This is the second book RJ Parker and JJ Slate collaborated on. The first book is Social Media Monsters: Internet Killers.