Three-year-old Andres Sierra died five years ago, July 15. His father, Dr. Dennis Sierra, of Parkland, Fla., stopped by his office, got caught up in work and forgot his son was in the car. Three hours later he found him, dead.

It happens more often than you may think. A child dies every 10 days from being left in a hot car. This is the worst month for such an occurrence.

“These incidents spike in July,” said Jan Null, professor of meteorology at San Francisco State University. “But it doesn’t even have to be too hot.”

Even when it’s only 75 degrees outside, Null said, the inside of a car can hit 130 degrees. The heat can kill a child in minutes.

The deaths are regarded as tragic accidents in roughly half the cases, and the parents are not charged. The other half go to trial, and 81 percent are convicted. Most are charged with aggravated manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years probation.