PHOENIX— This summer the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is partnering with the Arizona Humane Society, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to raise awareness in our community about the dangers of leaving children and pets in hot cars. The “Don’t Leave Me Behind” Vehicular Heatstroke Campaign will run from May 20th through August 31st. Our 2018 summer campaign saw amazing success with ZERO deaths in Maricopa County from children or pets being left in a hot vehicle. This year, tragically a young life was lost prior to the launch of the campaign and we are working to ensure that NOT ONE MORE life is lost this summer in our community.
The media is invited to the campaign kick-off at Desert Ridge Marketplace to learn more about this summer- long campaign that is dedicated to warning parents, guardians, and caregivers about the dangers of leaving young children and pets in unattended vehicles.
Also, as part of the 2019 partnership campaign, an updated SafeKidsAZ webpage can be found at www.safekidsaz.org/vehicular-heatstroke .The website is filled with information, tips and videos to help people understand the dangers of hot cars and how the tragic loss of life in these scenarios is 100% preventable. Leaving a child or pet in a vehicle is not only potentially fatal, in some circumstances it is a criminal offense.
Our community and media partners are encouraged to take part and help achieve the goal of NOT ONE MORE child or pet being left in hot car this summer by using the hashtag #DontLeaveMeBehind and following the partners on social media for more information and safety tips throughout the campaign.