A horrifying car accident could have ended badly by taking a child’s life, but because there was proper car seat installation, two tots named Hunter and Kolton and their mom Kylee actually survived
Kylee was on her regular route taking her 5-year-old son to school and also had her 2-year-old buckled in. The car had hit some black ice and when she swerved the car to avoid a collision with another car she went straight into a tree which crushed Hunter’s side of the car. Although the car toppled upside down, the car seat bent in a way to protect Hunter. Hunter is doing fine, but he has a broken left femur and some scratches and bruises.
The actual seat that Hunter was in is really not a fancy one. It’s a rear-facing Safety 1st seat which retails for about $100. However had the seat not been properly installed, this could have been a fatal event.
Kylee has since started a GoFundMe Page because her insurance is not covering all of the vehicle and medical bills but she also really wants to share her incredible but potentially tragic story for other parents to be aware. She states on the page
“Over all we are ok. Our truck on the other hand is totalled and we only had liability insurance. I decided to ask our friends and family for help in finding a new vehicle, medical bills that won’t be covered by our insurance and car seats for the boys. Anything will help but all I’m looking for is support 🙂 thank you everyone love, The Barretts”
When shopping for car seats I always seem to link the price and look of the seat to the actual safety level of it however this case proves that this is not always the case. Rather focus on installing and using car seats and booster seats according to the seat’s owner’s manual or get help installing them from a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician if you are unsure.