Six children were critically injured after being ejected from an SUV on Interstate 35 on Sept. 1 when the vehicle’s tire blew out and caused the driver to crash into a tree.
San Antonio Police said child safety seats weren’t installed in the vehicle and that six children, between the ages of 2 to 11, weren’t wearing seatbelts.
The driver of the vehicle faces child endangerment charges, and as of Monday, SAPD says the case is still under investigation.
The crash highlights a larger issue; in the San Antonio area, 300 people die everyday in crashes related to impairment, speeding, distractions.
“If we buckle our children up in the proper safety seats and booster seats, we know that we can save a life,” said TXDOT Director Dale Picha Monday at an event marking National Child Passenger Safety Week at University Health’s new Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
But 46% of child safety seats are misused, according to the National Highway Safety Administration. And this is a major concern because motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and injuries among children.
Every year, car crashes kill 600 child passengers ages 12 and younger and injure more than 106,000 children nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This tragedy highlights a simple, yet tragic truth,” says Presiding Judge Carla Obledo of the city’s municipal court. “I’m certain the caregivers in this situation never imagined that their lives would forever change that day. … As a judge who often sees these cases, I can assure you that it happens more frequently than you may realize.”
According to San Antonio Municipal Court records over the past six months, 889 people were cited for improper use of seat belts or not having child safety seats for children.
Texas law requires that all children younger than 8 years old must be secured in a child safety seat whenever they ride in a vehicle, unless the child is taller than 4 feet 9 inches, in which case they still need to be buckled in. Failure to properly restrain a child can result in a ticket of up to $250 or more serious charges if a child is critically injured.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is important,” Shayla Rivera, a former NASA aerospace engineer turned comedian, said at the event. “But now as a grandmother… car seats have become technology. Sometimes I feel like it takes a rocket scientist to figure this out, which is why there’s no shame in asking for help.”
Child safety seats save lives
A big mistake parents make is skipping the booster seat when they’ve outgrown their car seats, said Jennifer Northway, director of Injury Prevention for University Hospital.
Booster seats are designed to protect children during a crash, lifting them up so that the seat belts fit properly over their body. When belts don’t fit correctly, children can fly out of a vehicle and submarine into the floorboard, she said.
And when children suffer critical injuries during crashes, they often end up being treated at University Health, the only level 1 pediatric trauma center in South Texas.
The average costs of boosters and car seats are a barrier for some families, but they can be life-saving.
The county health system’s Buckle Up Program provides parents with child passenger safety education through training and seat checks, workshops and more in both English and Spanish. For more information, call 210-358-4295.
But there aren’t enough certified car seat technicians, so the program is working to meet the need and certify more car seat technicians. Her team consists of four certified technicians on staff, but at community safety events, more certified volunteers from across the state join to do more safety checks.
Register for a free car seat safety check and get your seats checked by certified technicians at Seat Check Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Walmart on 12550 Leslie Road in Helotes.
Methodist Healthcare and Methodist Healthcare Ministries are also hosting a free event from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at 4507 Medical Drive, where families can get their car seats installed by certified technicians.
“I’d rather see you and your family at our preventative efforts and do a car seat check and make sure it’s properly installed, and if not, help you, than see you or your loved one in our trauma bay,” said Dr. Katie Wiggins-Dohlvik, pediatric trauma medical director for University Health and assistant professor with UT Health San Antonio.
