Five stories that have North Texas talking: Texas currently leads the U.S. in hot car deaths; Kellogg awarded about $24 million to U.S. cities, including Dallas, to fight racism; African Film Fest; and more.
Seven children have died trapped in hot cars in Texas so far this year. According to data from San Jose University, Texas leads the country in the number of hot car deaths in 2017.
A device called “Oasis” would detect if a child has been left inside a car, notify parents and authorities and blow cool air on the child until help arrived. The life-saving invention, which would attach to a car seat, comes from the mind of an 11-year-old boy from McKinney.
Bishop Curry V was inspired to create the device when a 6-month-old girl died in a hot van last June outside a home in nearby Melissa. The baby’s father was charged with manslaughter, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Curry has an intellectual patent on the device and may soon get a formal patent to start prototype production. Curry’s father works at Toyota in Plano, and the family traveled to Michigan to present the idea at an auto safety conference, KXAS reported in the spring.
The family also completed a successful GoFundMe campaign, raising over $31,000 to fund production. Curry hopes to have a product available by 2018, according to the Morning News. [KXAS, The Dallas Morning News]
Some links have a pay wall or require a subscription.
- In a rare move, the Dallas City Council replaced four DART board members criticized for neglecting the urban core and not advocating for improved bus service. [The Texas Tribune]
- The Communities Foundation of Texas will use a new $1.75 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to promote racial healing in Dallas. [The Dallas Morning News]
- It’s been a decade since one of Denton’s go-to pizza joints burned down after 23 years. Take a look back in this oral history of The Tomato on Fry Street. [The Dentonite]
- Preview this weekend’s African Film Festivalin Dallas, which includes films from nearly 20 countries. [Art&Seek]
The High Five is KERA’s daily roundup of stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state. Explore our archives here. And sign up for our weekly email for the North Texas news you need to know.
