12-Year-Old Girl Wins $20,000 For Inventing Device That Helps Prevent Baby Deaths In Cars

• 12-year-old inventor Lydia Denton created a car seat device that prevents baby deaths in hot cars.
• She won $20,000 at the CITGO Fueling Education Student Challenge.

According to a report by the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration (NHSTA), over 30 children died in the United States in 2019 because of heatstroke after they have been left or accidentally forgotten inside vehicles.

Lydia Denton, who was 10 years old at the time, was shocked when she heard the news about this sad fact. According to Lydia, she did more researched about the topic and knew that she had to do something about it.

Lydia Denton’s Beat The Heat Car Seat” prevents baby deaths in hot cars.

Fast forward to a couple of years later, Lydia, now 12, has been awarded a $20,000 check for her original invention – a car seat device that aims to prevent hot car deaths.

The young genius from Wilson, North Carolina ended up winning the grand prize at CITGO’s Fueling Education Student Challenge after making a unique car seat device that measures a car’s temperature. When the temperature reaches 102 degrees, the device sends an alert to parents and even contacts an emergency number.

In an interview with Good Morning America, Lydia shared:

“I got really emotional about it because it’s something that’s happening in the real world that I knew could be fixed. And no one has come up with a cheap way to fix it that people can afford.”

Initially, Lydia wanted to raise funds for the families of the victims but thought that would not solve the dilemma at all. So she went to work instead and came up with a solution of her own.

“What I wanted was a device that had the ability to get 911 there to save the baby if a parent didn’t respond,” said the girl, who’s about to be a seventh grader soon.

Once it hits the market, the lifesaving device will be available at around $50.

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