����vlog

WEST DES MOINES POLICE SAY NO CHARGES WILL BE FILED AFTER A CHILD WAS FOUND UNRESPONSIVE IN A CAR EARLIER THIS SUMMER. IT HAPPENED BACK ON JULY 2ND. DESPITE EFFORTS BY FIRST RESPONDERS AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. THE 18 MONTH OLD WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE HOSPITAL. ����vlog KAYLA JAMES JOINS US NOW. AND, KAYLA, YOU’VE BEEN WORKING TO LEARN WHY NO ONE IS BEING CHARGED. THAT’S CORRECT. NOW, THE PROSECUTOR WITH THE POLK COUNTY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE WERE LOOKING TO SPEAK WITH REGARDING CRITERIA WHEN IT COMES TO CHARGES AND UNFORTUNATE SITUATIONS LIKE THIS WAS BUSY IN COURT THIS AFTERNOON. SO WE ARE WAITING TO LEARN MORE. BUT I SPOKE WITH A MEMBER OF THE ORGANIZATION, KIDS AND CAR SAFETY, WHO THIS HITS CLOSE TO HOME WITH. SHE SAYS THIS TRAGEDY CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE, ESPECIALLY WHEN A ROUTINE CHANGES AND THAT THERE ARE WAYS TO PREVENT IT. WEST DES MOINES POLICE JOINED OTHER FIRST RESPONDERS JULY 2ND WHEN THE CALL ABOUT A CHILD LEFT IN A CAR FOR ABOUT 6.5 HOURS CAME THROUGH, COURT DOCUMENTS SHOW. THE CALLER, WHO ����vlog IS NOT NAMING, WAS THE PERSON WHO FORGOT THE 18 MONTH OLD CHILD IN THE VEHICLE WHEN GOING TO WORK. THOSE DOCUMENTS ALSO REVEAL WEST DES MOINES FIRE TOOK AN INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF THE CAR, WHICH SHOWED A 130 DEGREE READING. THE HIGH OUTSIDE THAT DAY WAS 84 DEGREES. THE CHILD, WHO WAS TAKEN TO A NEARBY EMERGENCY ROOM BY THE CALLER WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD BY A PHYSICIAN WHO COURT DOCUMENTS SHOW, TOLD THE FAMILY. THE CHILD’S CORE BODY TEMPERATURE WAS 108 DEGREES. CHILDREN’S BODY TEMPERATURES UNDER THE AGE OF THREE. THEY ARE NOT REGULATED PROPERLY. ORGANIZATION. KIDS AND CARS. AMBASSADOR BALFOUR KNOWS THIS ALL TOO WELL BECAUSE BACK IN 2007, THE HIGH THAT DAY FOR MY SON WAS THE 66 DEGREES. HER NINE MONTH OLD SON DIED AFTER SHE ACCIDENTALLY LEFT HIM IN THE CAR WHILE AT WORK. I’M ACCOUNTABLE FOR MY SON’S DEATH. THERE’S NO TWO WAYS AROUND IT. IT WAS MY LAPSE AND RESPONSIBILITY TO NOT HAVE PROPER PROCEDURES IN PLACE. NOW, IN THE 18 YEARS SINCE, BALFOUR WORKS TO EDUCATE PEOPLE WITH KIDS IN CARS. AN IMPORTANT PART OF THAT, SHE SAYS, IS TELLING PEOPLE SOMETHING LIKE THIS CAN HAPPEN WHEN ROUTINES CHANGE. BALFOUR HAD TO TAKE HER HUSBAND TO WORK DUE TO CAR TROUBLES AND HER SON TO HIS BABYSITTER, WHICH HER HUSBAND USUALLY DID. NORMALLY, HE WOULD BE BEHIND THE PASSENGER SEAT, BUT HE HAD A SPARE CAR SEAT IN THE CAR. THAT WAS IN MY FIELD OF VIEW THAT WAS EMPTY, AND HE PUT THE BABY BEHIND ME, WHICH WAS OUT OF OUR ROUTINE. BALFOUR NOW TEACHES PEOPLE HELPING THEM ESTABLISH ROUTINES. YOU CAN HAVE A STUFFED ANIMAL THAT YOU WHEN YOU PLACE THE CHILD IN THE CAR, THAT STUFFED ANIMAL GOES UP FRONT WITH YOU AND SITS WITH YOU TO REMIND YOU TO CHECK THE BACK SEAT. SHE SUGGESTS PEOPLE HAVE A GOOD COMMUNICATION PROCESS WITH CHILD CARE PROVIDERS. CHECK THEIR OWN VEHICLES ANYTIME THEY GET OUT AND PUT ONE OF THEIR SHOES IN THE BACK SEAT. THE REALITY IS, IS THAT THERE ARE PARENTS THAT THIS ALMOST HAPPENS TO ALL THE TIME. BALFOUR SAYS DESPITE THE JUDGMENT SHE’S RECEIVED, SHE’S NEVER GOING TO STOP SPEAKING UP AND HOPES OTHER PARENTS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PAIN CAN FEEL EMPOWERED TO DO THE SAME. HUMILITY IS THE BIGGEST PIECE OF MAKING SURE THAT I KEEP THE PROMISE THAT I MADE TO MY SON THAT I WOULD NEVER LET HIS DEATH BE FOR NOTHING. BRAYTON BALFOUR ALSO HIGHLIGHTED OTHER PREVENTATIVE FEATURES DRIVERS CAN NOTE, SUCH AS VEHICLES THAT HAVE SENSORS IN THE BACK SEAT AND THE WAZE NAVIGATION APP. SHE SAYS THERE’S A FEATURE WHERE THE APP ESSENTIALLY TELLS PEOPLE TO CHECK FOR SOMEONE IN THE BACKSEAT BEFORE THEY GET OUT THE CAR. THEN I APPLAUD THAT WOMAN FOR BEING ABLE TO SHARE HER STORY AND HELP OTHERS. KAYLA. THANK YOU. DES MOINES LAW ENFORCEMENT ADVISES IF YOU DO SEE A CHILD OR PET LEFT IN A HOT CAR, CALL 911. AN IOWA LAW PROVIDES CIVIL PROTECTIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO ACT IN GOO