Every summer, there are horrific stories of a child or an animal being left unattended in a hot vehicle. Within minutes the inside of the vehicle has reached sweltering, deadly temperatures, and the inside of the parked car has become a deathtrap for children and for animals left inside. On a 72 degree day, the inside of a vehicle, even with the windows cracked, can increase 30 to 40 degrees within the first 30 minutes.

Good Samaritans are everywhere, and are more than willing to help in these dangerous situations. Although time is of the utmost importance in an emergency like this, we are asked to follow a series of steps such as contacting local authorities or trying to find the parent or owner in a nearby store.

However, what do we do when the clock is ticking and there are no signs of the parent, the owner, or even the authorities? Samaritans may be hesitant to act any further due to our state having no laws that protect our Good Samaritans from civil liability and/or property damage upon removing a child or an animal from a hot vehicle.

I am writing this petition for a new law to be passed in the state of South Carolina, protecting Good Samaritans, who in good faith and without reckless damage to property, believe that forcible entry was the only way to save the life of an endangered child or animal left unattended in a vehicle during extreme weather conditions. 

With this law being passed, the number of heatstroke related deaths in children and in animals will decrease by allowing Good Samaritans to act without hesitation should a situation arise.