Everyone knows the story about "a friend of a friend" that should have been wearing a seat belt or had their child in a car seat. Then there are all the news reports about people that would have survived an accident IF they were wearing a seat belt or had their children buckled in a seat belt or a child safety seat. Well I am here to put a face to these stories. In our case we survived because we were wearing our seatbelts and had our two children in child safety seats.
Our story begins on an overcast day. We had loaded our Toyota Minivan up with our suitcases and children's toys, planning to leave around midmorning. We were leaving on vacation to visit my husband's family. We weren't in a rush and planned a leisurely drive. Our sons were 4 years old and 13 months old. It was time to get into the van and leave. We put our 4-year-old into his booster seat. Our 13-month-old was put into his Century car seat and we buckled up our seat belts prior to starting the van. We were on our way!
We had just bought a new Gerry booster seat, as the first one we had just didn't meet our safety standards. We bought one originally that did not have a restraining lap belt and our son could get out of it without opening it. We shopped until we found a booster seat that we were comfortable with to place our son's life in.
After about one hour of driving we were nearing our destination. We were driving under the speed limit, as it was wet out. All of a sudden I felt an urge to recheck our son's seat belts. I unbuckled my seat belt and pulled on the straps to ensure they were tightly latched and with minimal movement that is safe. As soon as I was assured that they were safe I got back into my seat and rebuckled up. I double checked my seat belt and checked my husband's also. My husband just smiled at me and I smiled back.
Not one minute after this my husband says to me, "hold on, there is nothing I can do!" Our van hit a patch of water and we were hydroplaning. He let go of the steering wheel, as we were out of control. We ran off the road into the heavily wooded median. Our van eventually rolled over. We slid for a while on our roof until we came to rest with the rear of our van wedged up against some trees.
My husband immediately got out of his seatbelt and got his door open. He tried to get to me but I yelled to my husband to get our boys out. I was so scared for them. He got back into the van through his door and got our boys out. They weren't crying or making any noise.
My seat belt failed. I hit the windshield of the van, was thrown back into my seat and was thrown back toward the windshield when finally the seatbelt caught. I hit the roof of the van instead of the windshield as we rolled. When we came to rest I was hanging off my seat about 4-6 inches. If it weren't for the seatbelt finally catching I would have been thrown out the windshield.
It took me several minutes to get my seatbelt unbuckled. I fell onto the roof of the van and crawled out. My husband helped me crawl out. Our boys were waiting for me at the top of the ravine and I crawled to them. As I put my arms around them it started to rain. They were unharmed. NOT A SCRATCH OR A BRUISE! My husband was also fine. When he looked at me he looked alarmed and asked me if I was all right. My 4 year old said with tears forming, "Mommy your bleeding!" I cut my face when I hit the windshield and was bleeding.
While I was reassuring my sons that I was all right my husband was trying to get some help, no one had stopped. All of a sudden this 18 wheeler appeared backing up down the highway to us. He saw us run off the road in his rearview mirror and immediately stopped and reversed. He was the only one to help us. Using his CB he called the police. He put my sons and myself in his cab to get out of the rain. Around now the shock was setting in and I was shaking. This trucker put a blanket around us and made sure we were all right. Words cannot express the gratitude I have for this unknown man.
An ambulance came to take me to the hospital to make sure I was all right. I had hit my face and the back of my head. I was taken to the hospital with my 4-year-old. My husband and 13-month-old were put into the police car and they waiting for my mother in law to come. We wanted to make sure our 13-month-old was taken home as soon as possible and our 4-year-old wouldn't leave me. When we got to the hospital I was told that it was a miracle that I didn't have a concussion or facial injuries. Just a big knot on the back of my head and some cuts on my face.
I was released from the emergency room into my husband's care and we went to his mother's house. We survived a very serious crash. We walked away in one piece. If it weren't for the car seats and seat belts I wouldn't want to imagine what would have happened to us.
For the next two years I endured some very painful headaches. But that is nothing because I was alive. This accident took place in 1992 and to this day I still get chills thinking about what could have happened but didn't because we used our seatbelts.
Well now you know someone that survived. Here are pictures of the van we were in. These were taken at the body shop when the insurance adjuster came to see it. The van was totaled.
All I can ask is that you share this page. This is a true story. If one person buckles up because of my putting this online then I am grateful for your sharing my story. I decided to put this online because of recent deaths in my community due to parents not putting their children into their safety seats and to not buckling themselves up.
Please, PLEASE buckle up. Thank you.
