COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cooper Harris should have turned seven soon - a rising second grader - learning addition and subtraction.
Instead, his loved ones are left thinking of what he never got to do.
Five years ago today, Cooper's father Ross Harris left him strapped in his car seat inside a car in Cobb County. Cooper was 22 months old.
His mom says he was sweet and vibrant.
Ross Harris is serving life without parole in the Macon state prison. A jury said he did it on purpose. Harris said it was an accident, and his attorneys are appealing his conviction.
People talked about this case, all over the country, and learned more about the dangers of leaving a child inside a hot car.
The hope was the horrible way this little boy died would bring attention to children being left in hot cars and keep it from happening to other kids. Unfortunately, that's not the case and it continues to happen.
According to the group kidsandcars.org, last year alone, 52 children 14 and under died inside hot cars in the U.S. That number has more than doubled since 2015, the year after Cooper Harris died.
The problem is especially bad in Georgia, compared to other states. Even, worse, the state ranks fifth in the country for hot car deaths between 1990 and 2018. Thirty-seven children here died in that time span. Many more were left in cars, but survived.
So, what's the solution?
Governor Brian Kemp has launched the state's Look Again campaign, reminding parents about the dangers of leaving kids in hot cars. And starting next month, law enforcement in Georgia will not be liable for any damage if they have to break into a car to rescue a person or pet.
A few weeks into summer break, 11 children have died in cars already this year. So far, there have been none in Georgia.
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