An infant car seat aimed at preventing heat deaths

Author: CBS Moneywatch
Published:

A product just entering the market uses technology to alert parents before they inadvertently leave their child in a hot car, a scenario that leads to the death of a baby every nine days in the U.S., according to retailing giant Walmart (WMT).

Available Thursday on Walmart’s website, the Evenflo Advanced SensorSafe Embrace infant seat uses a wireless receiver that plugs into a car’s On Board Diagnostic port and syncs with a chest clip that goes around the baby. If the car is turned off and the chest clip is still buckled, a series of tones will alert the driver.

The product, which will retail for $149.88 and be available on Walmart shelves next month, is the only alert system crash-tested by the manufacturer and will be exclusive to Walmart, the retailer said.

“With all of those cars in the parking lots, what can we do to help out,” Jaeme Laczkowski, a Walmart spokesperson, said in explaining the thinking behind the product launch.

A woman accused of leaving a baby in a parked car outside a Walmart in Lafayette, Indiana, in June was charged on Friday with neglect of a dependent. The child involved was rescued by a police officer.

And in Merriam, Kansas, a woman smashed a car window on Saturday to rescue a toddler from a sweltering car as temperatures shot into the triple digits, a CBS affiliate reported.

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