OLR Report 2014-R-0202 answers the questions: What are the laws and associated penalties in New York and the New England states for leaving a child in a vehicle who dies from resulting heatstroke? How many children in those states died from heatstroke in the past five years after being left unattended in vehicles? Is there a correlation between these occurrences and the penalty associated with it?
Of the New England states and New York, only Connecticut specifically criminalizes, in certain circumstances, the act of leaving a child in a vehicle unattended. The other states do not specifically criminalize this behavior. But every state, including Connecticut, has laws under which, depending on the circumstances, someone may be charged when a child dies after being left in a hot vehicle. These include murder, manslaughter, and risk on injury to a minor statutes. In Connecticut, the penalties for these crimes range from a class C felony (punishable by one to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000 , or both) for risk of injury to a minor to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murder with special circumstances.
Although Rhode Island does not specifically criminalize leaving a child in a hot vehicle unattended, it authorizes police officers to issue verbal warnings in such circumstances. Also, Massachusetts is currently considering a bill that would subject a person to a fine for such an act.
From 2009-2013, there have been a total of six reported child deaths in New York and New England resulting from the child being left unattended in a hot vehicle. None of the deaths occurred in Connecticut. (One child is suspected to have died in Connecticut under these circumstances in July 2014 but the death is still under investigation.) We were unable to draw a correlation based on the limited data between the severity of the penalty and the incidences of these deaths.
For more information, read the full report.
