CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — One local radio station is airing public service announcements to remind parents and caregivers of how important it is to not leave children in cars during the summer heat.
Carlos Lopez, the owner and general manager of Lopez Broadcasting, began running the P.S.A.s on Thursday.
He said he was compelled to do this after the two recent deaths of children who were left in hot cars. On August 20, a 22-month-old girl died after police say her mother, Hilda Adame, left her in a car at Tom Browne Middle School. Adame was arrested hours later. The following day, a 9-month-old girl died inside a hot car parked outside a home in Beeville. The girl was being cared for by her grandmother. No charges have been filed in that case.
The public service announcement starts with the phrase, "Stop, look, and listen."
A child's body temperature rises five times faster than an adult's body temperature. It suggests that adults place their cell phones in the backseat when preparing to leave for their destination. When they arrive, they will search their backseat for their phone, allowing them to see if their children are in the backseat.
"Every life is important and these children at times cannot talk. They are sometimes babies so we have to be their voices and we have to have this responsibility that God has given all of us that are in the media to bring this awareness so we can serve,"
The PSAs are airing on the Corpus Christi-based radio station Majic 104.9, along with Lopez's radio stations, KOMO and KQSA in San Antonio, and KHMC in Victoria.
"We're hoping other media partners will do the same in Dallas, in Houston, in the Valley, in Laredo, and other places as well because we know that Texas heat is unforgiving," Lopez said.
The radio station owner also contacted State Representative Todd Hunter to see if he could have the Texas Department of Transportation post messages on its digital boards to remind parents and caregivers to avoid leaving children in the car.
