Even considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to people driving less and working from home more, the risk of hot car deaths remains high. Thats according to AAA, which is urging parents to be extra cautious as the pandemic has changed our routines. Summer-like temperatures have arrived, and the inside of a hot car can be fatal. The boys death follows 52 hot car deaths in 2019, and a record 53 deaths in 2018, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The majority of hot car deaths, at 54%, according to AAA, happen because someone forgets a child in a car.