Meet the 12-year-old boy whose genius invention could help save babies from dying in hot cars

A 12-year-old middle school student from Tennessee has created a device to help save children from dying in hot cars.

Andrew Pelham created the E-Z Baby Saver, which is bright neon strap made of rubber bands and duct tape, last year when he was in fifth grade.

The award-winning gadget attaches to the driver’s seat of the car and the interior door handle, so that when parents get out of the car they are reminded to check the back seat, The Huffington Post reports.

The product was quickly lauded for being easy to assemble, and contains items that can be found in any household.

He recently won nationalrunner-up in the Rubber Band Contest for Young Inventors, and Andrew says that media attention has been intense.

Andrew won $500 in the competition, and spent his prize money on a laptop and Nerf guns.

‘After that I was getting email from around the world,’ Andrew told The Huffington Post in an email. ‘The story ran on the Israel National News after a child died there.’

In 2013, 44 children in the U.S. died from vehicle-induced heat strokes. There have been 13 fatalities so far since the beginning of 2014.

The budding entrepreneur shows no signs of slowing down: Since creating the E-Z Baby Saver, Andrew has turned his attention to photography and disaster relief for his two new inventions.

One is an animal-proof camera. The other is an origami rainwater collection system that can fold flat for transport to areas in need of disaster relief.

‘Winning the Rubber Band Contest showed me that even a kid can have good ideas,’ he said.