BATON ROUGE - Gov. Jeff Landry declared Wednesday, May 1, as National Heatstroke Prevention Day as a reminder for drivers not to leave unattended children in their car.

More than 1,083 children have died from heatstroke in hot cars since 1990, and at least another 7,500 survived with varying types and severities of injuries, according to data collected by Kids and Car Safety.

Additionally, the overwhelming majority of victims are age five and younger, with rear-facing child safety seats often contributing to caregivers losing awareness of their child’s presence in the back seat.