TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Florida’s agriculture commissioner placed the first sticker on a gas pump in the state Friday, which reads: “Never leave children or pets in a hot vehicle.”
Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson said Florida leads the country in hot-car deaths in 2023.
“Our children, our pets are very vulnerable this time of year,” Simpson said. “In the nation this year, we’ve had 15 deaths already, six in the state of Florida.”
Simpson said the idea for the stickers came from Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
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“This is about constant reminders,” Ivey said during a press conference at a BP station on US-1.
One of the state’s child deaths this year happened in Palm Bay, where police say a mother left her baby in the parking lot of Mount of Olives Evangelical Baptist Church.
Police said that the manslaughter suspect, Pastor Bulaine Molme, left her daughter in the car for hours as she led service.
Since 2016, Florida law has protected those who break someone’s window to rescue a person or an animal from a hot car.
Like other law enforcement K-9 vehicles, Sheriff Ivey showed how his car for his bloodhound Junny can automatically open windows if the temperature gets too hot.
Police blamed mechanical failure two years ago when a Cocoa K-9 died.
Police said former Officer Viera Gonzalez left Zena in his car as he attended hours of training.
“Our team makes sure that they’re not leaving the dog in the car for extended periods of time,” Sheriff Ivey said.
Starting with the BP in Titusville, the agriculture commissioner said that eventually, the sticker will be on every gas pump in the state.
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