5-year-old boy dies after being left in a car in Lod
The child was evacuated to Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh) with signs of heatstroke, but doctors were unable to save his life.
A 5-year-old boy died today, Sunday, after being forgotten in a car in Lod. He was found in critical condition and evacuated to Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh), where doctors were forced to pronounce his death. The report on the incident was received at the MADA dispatch center at 12:58.
Senior MADA medic Haim Shavit and medic Yosef Yitzhak Sagiv stated:
"We received a report about a child found unconscious in a car. When we arrived at the scene, they brought us a boy of about five years old who was unconscious, without a pulse and without breathing, and suffering from signs of heatstroke. We began performing advanced resuscitation efforts that included chest compressions and artificial respiration, and we evacuated him in an intensive care ambulance to the hospital while his condition was defined as critical and we were fighting for his life."
According to data from the Beterem organization for child safety, in the last five years (2021-2025), 23 children who were trapped inside vehicles lost their lives. 53 children who were harmed for this reason survived, and 1,513 were rescued from vehicles unharmed.
Beterem CEO Orly Silvinger said:
"We are in the middle of the summer, and the long vacation creates a change in routine for the whole family. This change, along with the heat, makes the danger of forgetting children in a car more tangible and lethal. The temperature in a closed car rises quickly, and it can cause a real life-threatening danger to a child left in the car. It is important to remember, a child who is forgotten or trapped in a closed car cannot escape on their own. It is important to adopt regular habits when transporting children, which include simple reminder means, and in addition to install a system that will help as a second line of defense. These are actions that can simply save lives."
