Articles

One Mom’s Story 

On August 18, 2005 the unthinkable happened.  I was living every mother’s nightmare – I was in a car crash with my 2-year-old son while I was 8 months pregnant.  There was no major reason for the crash – I wasn’t speeding, I wasn’t on my cell phone, I wasn’t playing with the radio – the tire of my SUV caught the lip of the road and I collided head on with a telephone pole causing my SUV to flip onto its side.  My first thought was what took a fraction of a second never actually happened but when I heard the screams of my 2 year old I knew it was real.   

Thankfully no one was seriously hurt.  After a trip via ambulance to the emergency room I had only sustained a few minor cuts and abrasions and the fetal monitor showed that the baby was in no distress. My son however had walked away without a scrape in spite of the fact that the SUV was totaled.  I had been wearing my seat belt and my son was in his car seat that had been properly installed with the assistance of the Team Educators for Child Safety (TECHS) in conjunction with the Car Safety Seat Inspection program.  The hour we spent at the inspection station saved my son from serious injury.  Have your car seat inspected immediately – it’s the best thing any parent can do for their child. 
Gretchen Papariello Walker