Tragedies all too common

Yet another tragic story of a child forgotten in a vehicle, left to die in the summer heat:

Miles Harrison, 49, of Purcellville has been charged with manslaughter in the death of his newly adopted son.

Last week, Mr. Harrison was supposed to take his son to day care. At the end of the workday, the child was spotted still in his father’s SUV. The temperature that day had climbed to about 90 degrees.

Last year, Charlottesville had its own such case, when a young mother left her child in the car while she was at work.

There is no way an outsider could comprehend the grief a parent must feel after such an accident.

Some people are quick to say, “I would never do that.”

We say, “Don’t be too sure.”

One can never fully predict how one will respond under stress and pressure. The wrong confluence of events, and each one of us could make a fatal mistake. 

That is not to condone carelessness or thoughtlessness. Parents have a responsibility to put their children’s safety first.

Take extra steps to remind yourself that you are supposed to drop off (or pick up) your child at day care, especially if it’s not your usual routine. Place reminders on sticky notes, on your BlackBerry alarm, whatever it takes.

Ironically, a safety requirement that young children ride in special child seats in the back of the vehicle likely contributes to the increase in deaths.

Child seats must be installed in the back seat because air bags deploying from the dashboard exert such force they can kill or injure a child riding in the front.

But placing them in the back makes it easier for parents to forget they are there: The children are out of view, and a quietly sleeping little one won’t be heard, either.

Some day, someone will invent an electronic reminder: a device that automatically resets itself each time a child placed in the seat and then issues an alarm within seconds if, say, the driver’s door is opened and closed without the child being removed.

Until then, preventing more trage-dies like these will require both personal and civic responsibility; parents, to keep their children always in focus; and the rest of us, to notice vehicles and report any situation that seems questionable.