NC Insurance Commissioner makes smores in hot car to warn against leaving pets, children inside

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Anyone walking outside in North Carolina this week does not need to be reminded how hot it is, but remember it is even hotter inside parked cars.

State Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey went to Pullen Park today to demonstrate how hot (and how quickly) a car can get while sitting in the sun.

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Causey put chocolate and marshmallows in the car and watched them melt within a matter of minutes. Causey said that showed how important it is to not leave children or pets alone inside cars for any amount of time.

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The 5-year-old child may have been in the vehicle for two to three hours as his mother rushed to put together a birthday party for his sister.

"If you see a child or pet left in hot car, call 911. No person or animal can survive in those temperatures for very long," Causey said.

On average, 38 children under the age of 15 die eachyear from heatstroke after being left in vehicles. So far this year, 10 children have died across the U.S. including a child in Alamance County.