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Officials urge planning to prevent heat-related deaths
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As the temperature continues to rise, so does the risk of vehicular hyperthermia (heat stroke), especially for a child left inside a hot vehicle.
Regardless of how or why a child is left behind, the end result can be devastating.
To prevent the tragedy of a young child’s death, “Kaitlyn’s Law” was enacted in California in 2002 following the heat-related death of 6-month-old Kaitlyn Marie Russell.
Sadly, Kaitlyn was left unattended in a parked vehicle on a hot summer day.
“On a typical sunny day, the temperature inside a vehicle can reach a potentially deadly level within minutes,” said California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow. “There is no excuse for leaving a child alone in a vehicle, not even for a few minutes.”
California law prohibits anyone from leaving a child six years of age or younger unattended in a motor vehicle without the supervision of someone who is 12 years or older when: there are conditions that present a significant risk to the child’s health or safety, or when the vehicle’s engine is running and/or the vehicle’s key is in the ignition (California Vehicle Code 15620).
While the law prohibits it, sadly, even the best of parents or caregivers can overlook a sleeping baby in a vehicle; and the end result can be injury or even death.
For this reason, the CHP encourages parents or caregivers to develop a plan, or a habit, which serves as a reminder of where a child is at all times.
“A few simple precautions can go a long way toward keeping a child safe,” added Commissioner Farrow. “No matter what the weather is like, or length of time you need to be away from the vehicle, leaving a child unattended in a vehicle is very risky and can result in tragedy.”
Finally, the public is also encouraged to take an active role in safeguarding children who may be left unattended in a vehicle by dialing 9-1-1 immediately and following the instructions that emergency personnel provide.
Caltrans debuts new online ‘QuickMap’ travel and information service for motorists
Caltrans has launched its new “QuickMap,” an online service that provides California motorists with real-time traffic and travel information that will allow them to make better decisions about how to reach their destination more rapidly.
To access Caltrans QuickMap, visit the Caltrans site at http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov .
“A wide range of useful information is now easily accessible to help motorists avoid congestion and reduce their travel times,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “This exciting innovation delivers real-time data so travelers can adjust their routes to get where they’re going as quickly as possible.”
Visitors to the online interactive travel map can access nearly 1,000 freeway cameras and more than 700 electronic message signs on highways statewide.
They also can monitor traffic congestion, California Highway Patrol incidents, travel time information, lane closures due to highway roadwork, and Amber Alerts.
Other helpful features of the service include chain control information and color-coded traffic speed displays for freeways statewide.
Clearlake woman convicted of elder abuse for December 2011 fight
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Clearlake woman has been found guilty of elder abuse as the result of a physical fight that occurred last December.
Katie Ann Key was found guilty of felony elder abuse likely to cause great bodily injury, and additional charges of elder abuse and dependent adult abuse for allegedly assaulting Christina Warrington of Clearlake on Dec. 1, 2011.
At the time of the incident, Key was 19 and Warrington was 46, according to the original incident reports.
Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson said the guilty verdict was handed down on Friday, July 20, at the end of a trial that ran about three days.
Key is to be sentenced on Wednesday, Aug. 22, according to her attorney, Tom Quinn.
Quinn said he will ask the court to reduce the principal felony elder abuse charge to a misdemeanor at sentencing, as he asserted her conduct did not pose a danger of great bodily injury to Warrington.
He said Key – a young mother with no criminal record – regrets the incident and has taken responsibility for it, but said it was a mutual fight.
Quinn also said Key was not Warrington’s caregiver, as had originally been reported, although she had helped Warrington out occasionally. He said Warrington conceded that on the stand.
Police had reported at the time of the incident that Key and Warrington got into a fight on the side of the road of Old Highway 53 near Highway 53, not far from the trailer park where they both lived.
If the charge remains a felony, Abelson said Key could face up to four years in prison.
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STATE: Officials report on latest fire incidents around California
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Lightning is being blamed for about a third of the wildland fires that burned around California this past week.
More than 225 new fires burned just over 1,000 acres over the past week, Cal Fire reported.
Early in the week, 2,800 lightning strikes sparked approximately 73 of the week’s fires, most of which were contained at small spots, according to the agency.
The largest of the lightning fires was the Gopher Fire, which Cal Fire said burned 75 acres in Calaveras County and was 100 percent contained July 23.
Also contained over the last week were the Amador Lightning Complex, which included 19 fires that burned 41 acres; the Paskenta Fire in Tehama County, which burned 300 acres; and the Penn Fire in Calaveras County, 134 acres.
Officials are anticipating a continued drying trend and the potential for thunderstorms over the coming week, and are urging people to be careful when clearing vegetation.
See Cal Fire’s full Fire Situation Report above.
