A McKinney, Texas, 10-year-old has received a provisional patent for a device that he hopes will put an end to hot-car deaths around the country.
Bishop Curry V decided to create his device “Oasis” after the death of a small child in his town of Melissa, Texas, last year. The fifth-grader and his father, Bishop Curry IV, are constantly reminded of the unfortunate incident because they drive by the victim’s home daily.
During an exclusive interview with NBC Dallas Fort Worth, Bishop was operating a trebuchet he designed and built. So, he decided to put his big brain to use by designing a model for a device that could save lives.
“Sometimes, babies fall asleep and they’re really quiet, so if you’re rushing home from work or you’re rushing to the grocery store, I could see how somebody could forget,” says Curry IV, who is an engineer for Toyota in Plano.
There were 39 child deaths related to heat stroke resulting from hot-car incidents last year, seven in Texas alone, according to a San Jose State University researcher.
When fully realized, the device will be placed on the top of the back of a child-safety seat, blow cool air if a child is left in the car and notify authorities. Now, the device has attracted Toyota and the family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover development costs. Bishop recently traveled to Michigan to introduce the early concept at an auto safety conference.
“It would be a dream to have lots of inventions that would save many lives,” Bishop says.
