Lorraine Williamson
A 20-month-old boy in foster care died last week in Linares (Jaén), after being left for six hours in a parked car. The incident happened last week as temperatures reached approximately 30°C.
The incident, believed to have been the result of a tragic oversight, has reignited calls for Spain to adopt mandatory child alert systems in vehicles, similar to those already in place in countries like Italy.
Foster father reportedly forgot nursery drop-off
The child, cared for by a long-term foster family, was strapped into his car seat during the morning school run. As reported by El País, the foster father, a retired teacher in his 70s, had intended to take the boy to nursery as part of his usual routine. Each morning, he reportedly sent a message via WhatsApp to nursery staff upon arrival. However, on this occasion, he failed to do so.
Instead, the man proceeded with his day, unaware that the child remained in the vehicle. The car, parked on a busy Linares street, had tinted windows, making it difficult for passers-by to see inside. Temperatures outside reached around 30°C, and within hours, the heat inside the car became fatal.
Discovery came too late
It was not until the foster mother went to collect the child later that day that nursery staff informed her he had never arrived. Returning home, the family discovered the boy still inside the car. Emergency services were called, but despite efforts to revive him, he was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy confirmed the cause of death as heatstroke.
According to emergency responders, the foster mother went into shock and required immediate medical assistance.
Legal proceedings underway
The foster father was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter but has since been released pending judicial proceedings. He voluntarily returned to the police station this week to assist with the reconstruction of the event.
Government delegate Pedro Fernández confirmed the investigation is ongoing but indicated that “everything points to a tragic oversight.” However, a judge will determine the final charges.
Longstanding foster family
The family, according to the Andalucian Federation of Foster Families, had cared for 13 children over the years and was considered exemplary foster carers. At the time of the incident, they were also fostering another child in addition to the deceased boy.
Despite the family’s history of responsible care, the incident has triggered a national conversation about whether existing laws are sufficient to prevent avoidable deaths in vehicles.
Rising demand for legislative change
This is not an isolated case in Spain. In recent years, there have been other fatalities involving young children left in cars—often during summer months when temperatures soar. In one such case last November, a two-year-old girl died in Castellón after being forgotten in her father’s car while he was at work.
Countries like Italy have made alert systems mandatory in child car seats since 2019. These devices detect when a child is left behind and notify the driver or send alerts to a connected smartphone. In Spain, similar regulations have been proposed but not yet adopted.
Advocates argue that making such systems compulsory could save lives. For the grieving family in Linares, those measures would now come too late.
2024 was Spain´s record-breaking year for heat