Sept. 06--An unbuckled 2-year-old boy's survival from a rollover crash Saturday has prompted school officials and state troopers this month to ramp up efforts to remind the public of the life-saving effects of properly used child restraints in vehicles.
Preliminary findings from a traffic investigation suggest Angelina Vazquez, of Kinston, had her infant son secured in the passenger seat of her 2000 Chevrolet Tahoe with the use of a shoulder strap when she lost control of her vehicle on Vine Swamp Road around 10 a.m. The vehicle ran off the right shoulder into a ditch and overturn, said Trooper J.J. Zamora, of the N.C. Highway Patrol's Jones and Lenoir counties barrack.
The impact of the collision caused the SUV, which was traveling 55 mph -- to roll back into the roadway and land upright, Zamora said.
While Zamora said the mother and the son will be OK after being airlifted to the trauma units of Pitt County Memorial and Duke University hospitals, respectively, the wreck served as a vivid real-life example for September's National Child Passenger Safety Month and how seat belts and child restraints save roughly 12,000 lives each year.
The N.C. Highway Patrol has partnered with schools in Lenoir and Jones counties to distribute pamphlets for young students to share with their parents and caregivers of the age and weight restrictions of the different types of child restraint seats and how to use them, Zamora said.
Thousands of new car dealers around the country host free child safety seat inspections at their dealerships as part of a national Boost for Safety campaign, according to the website of the National Automobile Dealers Association, which developed the program in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Child Passenger Safety month brings public attention to the importance of properly securing all children in appropriate child safety seats, booster seats or seat belts -- on every trip, every time, the website stated.
The NHTSA has launched a social media campaign aimed at educating parents and caregivers about child passenger safety. The campaign includes a presence on Facebook and a Twitter account, as well as a "super widget" that directs users to child safety seat inspection stations.
Zamora said Vazquez was buckled during the crash and that his office will speak with interpreters for the family to decide whether to charge the mother with improperly restraining her child.
He said most likely charges would follow upon the two's release from the hospital.
Wesley Brown can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wbrown@freedomenc.com.
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