Last Thursday was a day that forever changed a young NSW family’s life when three-year-old Arikh tragically died after being left in a hot car. With outside temperatures hovering around 35°C, now Arikh’s grieving father is speaking out about this tragic accident in the hope that other parents don’t make this fatal mistake.
A life-changing mistake
In tragic and heart-breaking circumstances, three-year-old Arikh Hasan died when he was left in a hot car for several hours last week. And now, Arikh’s grieving father, Newaz Hasan, has issued a plea that all parents need to hear.
As details came to light, we reported that Arikh Hasan died when his dad, Newaz Hasan, forgot to drop him at daycare and accidentally left the sleeping toddler securely strapped into his car seat in the back of the locked family car as he proceeded to go to work.
An accidental mistake that will forever change their lives.
Arikh’s father shares the series of events
And now Newaz himself has shared exactly what happened on that fateful day in hope that it acts as a warning to other parents so they too don’t make the same unfathomable mistake.
The devastated father of two boys explained that he put both three-year-old Arikh and his six-year-old brother into the car to head out to morning dropoffs. Same as he has countless times before, and most likely like we all do. He dropped his eldest son off at his Glenfield school and would usually then go on to drop Arikh at daycare but forgot as his little boy was sleeping and not making much noise.
Newaz has said:
“I would normally talk to my son on the way to daycare, but forgot as the little boy was sleeping and not making much noise.
I would normally talk to my son on the way to daycare, you know, we would cha t… but because he was asleep this day, the car was silent.
I think that silence just made me forget he was there.”
Newaz then worked from home for six hours and didn’t notice unresponsive Arikh when he got back to the hot car to pick up his older son from school.
“I drove again and parked outside the shops and I walked up to get my older son. When I came back and I opened the back door to put my boy in, then I saw him.”
The reality of the situation had Newan rushing Arikh into a nearby shop and attempting CPR, but it was too late for his little boy. After spending six hours in the hot car, he could not be saved.
In the days following the tragedy, Newan is desperately urging parents to “always be 120% sure where your kids are.”
Our hearts go out to the Hasan family, the first responders who attended the accident and the witnesses who watched the horrific tragedy unfold in front of them. One witness reported that he saw Newan and his eldest son screaming and crying, before calling the ambulance for them. He said:
“He took the boy out of the car and took him inside the bottle shop. The father did CPR so many times but there was no response.”
When the ambulance arrived, Arikh was still unresponsive and sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
Later, Newan was seen breaking down on the footpath next to the car, in tears with blood running down his hand having punched his car window in frustration and grief.
Arikh’s father Newan has not been charged over his son’s death. Our heart breaks for the Hasan family and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.
5,000 children rescued from hot cars every year
Child safety advocates Kidsafe claim that more than 5,000 (yes, FIVE THOUSAND) children – mostly babies and toddlers – are rescued from hot cars in Australia every year. That’s 96 children being left inside vehicles with deathly temperatures.
Leaving children unattended in a car – even for a short time – can be fatal. Children lose fluid quickly, become dehydrated and suffer from heatstroke quicker than you realise.
And remember, when children are strapped in a secure child’s seat, they have little chance of escaping a hot car on their own.
Forgotten baby syndrome and auto-pilot parenting
Forgotten baby syndrome and auto-pilot parenting are absolutely a thing. Especially if you have a lot to juggle between family life and work. Add sleep deprivation or distraction to the mix and it’s so easy to think you’ve done something when you haven’t.
It might seem silly, but popping your handbag on the. back seat or setting alarms and reminders on your phone to alert you to the simplest of things – like school and daycare drop-offs, unloading kinder kids from the car and so on is ideal to interrupt your train of auto-pilot thought. And it could just save a life.
