Kevin Bacon's Harrowing Tale of Accidentally Locking His Baby in a Car

As temperatures begin to warm up, parents are increasingly reminded to double-check for their children before leaving their car. While you might think that this simple mind slip would never happen to you, Kevin Bacon is encouraging parents to look twice after a harrowing encounter of his own.

The Footloose actor recently shared the heart-stopping moment when he accidentally locked his baby in the car during an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live. While catching up with Kimmel about his wife of 35 years Kyra Sedgwick and his family Bacon referenced the incident, which happened back when he was filming Tremors.

“We got pregnant on the honeymoon…We didn’t know anything man. We knew nothing about raising a kid," Bacon told Kimmel. "We were staying at a hotel. It was the Chateau Marmont here in L.A., which at that time was one of the few hotels that would allow us to bring the dog … We had rented a car and I don’t know, I was scattered. I wasn’t really thinking.”

“I pulled up to the valet at the hotel, jumped out of the car, slammed the door, car still running, keys in the car, windows up, baby still in the car,” he continued. “And my little guy was, I think, 4 days old at the time. So to say I lost my s—- would be the understatement.”

As soon as he realized what he had done Bacon immediately sprang into action and ran to the valet, who punched through a small triangle window in his car, saving the day. “This amazing, heroic dude, it took him literally 3 seconds. He wrapped a towel around his fist. Bam! Right through that window” Bacon recounted. “I was probably not the first jackass that ever did that, I’m thinking,” the actor added.

Years later Bacon returned to the Chateau Marmont and asked the valet if he remembered saving his son. “He said yeah, and, you know, we laughed about it and stuff … I would like to think I tipped him well.”

Bacon’s story serves as a reminder of how quickly things can go wrong. Parents can take steps to prevent this kind of situation from happening by always keeping a spare key handy, double-checking that they have the keys before closing car doors, and being mindful of when baby is in the car. Worried you might forget baby in the back seat after a sleepless night? Check out this pediatricians TikTok hacks that just might help!