The death of 3-month-old Faith Nichols in Clarksville, Tenn., this month is one of the latest in a string of incidents nationwide that involved a child being left in a vehicle in searing summer temperatures.

Across the country, 16 children have died from hyperthermia in a vehicle this year, according to San Francisco State University's Department of Geoscience.

Faith was left in the car for six hours while her mother, Cortni Nichols, 24, went in and out of local bars, according to police reports.

The temperature outside was already 96 degrees on the morning of July 8 when the infant was left on the back seat of a car at a gas station.

Within 10 minutes the temperature in the car was likely as high as 115; within an hour, the temperature could have reached 150, according to Jan Null, certified consulting meteorologist and an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Francisco State University.

When an Emergency Medical Service crew got to Faith, her body temperature was 103.8 degrees, and she was dead.

Cortni Nichols has since been charged with first-degree murder.

A Dickson County, Tenn., couple was charged this month with child abuse and neglect after a police officer discovered a 5-month-old child crying in a truck with the windows rolled up and the doors locked in a bar parking lot. The parents were located inside the bar, and it was determined that the infant had been left in the truck for about three and one-half hours, the police report said.

Null's research, which began seven years ago, has been used by several states and other countries. South Africa and Israel have cited his work in calling for stricter laws, he said.

Null, along with social workers and law enforcement, is trying to get more parents to take responsibility for their children and be more aware of the dangers of leaving a child in a car unattended.

MEDICAL RISKS

Temperatures inside a car are more extreme than the outside temperature and rise quickly, even with the windows down, Null said.

"The way a car heats up, the sun shines on objects in the car, which gives off heat and heats up the car," he said. "It's not enough circulation, and you can reach lethal temperatures. ... Cracking the window makes no difference."

The most common cause of death when a child is left in a car is hyperthermia. Also known as heat stroke, hyperthermia occurs when body temperature exceeds 104 degrees and the body's thermoregulatory mechanism is overwhelmed, Null said.

Symptoms include dizziness, disorientation, agitation, confusion, sluggishness, seizure, hot dry skin that is flushed but not sweaty, loss of consciousness, rapid heartbeat and hallucinations.

A core body temperature of 107 degrees is considered lethal, as cells are damaged and internal organs shut down.

Null said it does not take long for a child's body temperature to reach heat-stroke levels.

"While (an adult) can be in a car for a short amount of time, an infant's or child's body heats up three to five times faster than an adult's," Null said.

"They can go into heat stroke at 104 degrees, and they can become unconscious, sweat profusely, and the body's cooling system shuts down. The way we cool ourselves is through perspiring. They stop perspiring, and their body temperature increases more rapidly."

Null said nationwide there have been 377 cases of children dying from being left stuck in a car since 1998.

More than half of the cases - 51 percent - result from distracted parents forgetting the child. Others are cases where children get in a car on their own and can't get out, he said.

In some cases, a parent or caregiver intentionally leaves a child in the car while they go do something else.

"It's a small percentage, but a significant number: 105 cases of 377 since 1998," Null said. "Each of these cases are preventable. It's not like some disease that came along."

OTHER DANGERS

Ted Denny, spokesman for the Montgomery County (Tenn.) Sheriff's Office, said leaving a child in a car does not deter criminal activity.

"There have been too many tragic case where automobiles are stolen with a kid in the back seat," Denny said. "Why take the chance of leaving your most precious cargo? Don't take for granted that the child will still be there when you pay a bill for a minute or two. We can recover an automobile, but not the innocence of a small child."

Denny said other dangers can include the child starting the vehicle or putting it into gear.

Null said other tragedies have occurred, such as a child strangling himself in a power window.

"We say no amount of time is OK to leave your child in a car ... not one minute," Null said. "That one minute to run into the convenience store turns into five minutes, and that can be very damaging."

Just a few minutes can turn into a lifetime of tragedy for a parent, law enforcement and social workers stress.

"Anything can happen, and sometimes does," Denny said. "And I hope and pray mothers and fathers take being parents very serious."

KEEP KIDS SAFE FROM HEAT, CARS

Here are some tips to follow to prevent child deaths from hyperthermia in an overheated vehicle: