NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Hot weather can be dangerous or even deadly for small children or pets left in hot cars. If you see that when you're out and about, you can do something, but you have to be careful. A bill passed by the Kansas Legislature in 2018 says you can assist in specific situations.
"What it does is, it allows Good Samaritans the legal right and immunity under certain conditions from civil liability when they are rescuing a vulnerable person or a pet from a locked vehicle, if that individual believes that either the person or the pet is in imminent danger unless they are saved," said Cherie Sage with Safe Kids Kansas.
You have to be willing to do certain things to receive the protection.
"Is the car locked, don't break a window or break into the vehicle if you don't have to, check that first," Sage said. "Use the least aggressive means to gain access. Is the person or the pet suffering, or are they in imminent danger? On a hot day, we know vehicles can become very dangerous. They can reach up to 125 degrees in just minutes. Eighty percent of the increase in temperatures happens in just the first 10 minutes. It's really important to act quickly. Also, have you notified local law enforcement? Did you call 911? That should be the first thing that you do. Can you stay with the person or the pet until law enforcement arrives?"
Always be sure that you put something you have to take into your destination next to any child that also needs to exit the vehicle, like a cell phone or a purse or briefcase, just so you are forced to go back and look to be sure the backseat is empty.