Toddler found unconscious in locked car last week still in critical condition, hospital says

Rambam Medical Center in Haifa reports that a 2-year-old girl found unconscious in a car in Hadera on Thursday remains in critical condition in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Another toddler who was also trapped in a car the same day in Elyakhin, near Hadera, and arrived in serious condition is now stabilized and has been moved to the children’s ward. Her brother, 5, is in good condition in Hadera’s Hillel Yaffe Hospital.

Police located the children in Elyakhin after being alerted that they had gone missing, according to a police statement. Officers also arrived on the scene in Hadera after medical services alerted them that a small girl was found in a car in critical condition, police said.

Both cases are under investigation, police said, adding a warning to parents to make sure they don’t forget children in cars.

Toddlers dying after being forgotten in vehicles is a repeated occurrence in Israel, where temperatures in locked cars can soar to 70°C (160°F) — a level that can prove dangerous to children even for brief periods.

According to the Beterem – Safe Kids Israel organization, in 2010-2020, 34 babies and children in Israel died after they were left unattended in parked and locked cars.