Kelley Obannion tells of the horrific crash that could have cost her the life of her 6 month old if not for his properly installed and used car seat.
When I was pregnant with Parker my first child I started researching everything!! The carseat was no exception. I purchased an evenflo infant seat that had a 5 point harness. My husband and I read the manual literally cover to cover and checked carefully to make sure the seat would install properly in my car.
At the time I had a 1997 GMC Jimmy (a small blazer). The Jimmy did not have the LATCH system so that worried me but after checking on it and being reassured by the car seat company that the seatbelt was just as safe, we installed it in our car per the directions given with the seat. We were very careful to check and double check it and make sure it was in good and snug.
Our parents actually giggled at how obsessive we were about it and all the other baby details saying we were "typical first time parents." Looking back there is not a day that goes by I don't thank God that we were so worried about it!!
December 10, 2003 my baby Parker was just shy of 6 months old and I set out to drop him off at daycare and go to work as usual. I don't have a lot of memory of the morning but it was a clear day. I was driving on the feeder road to the freeway and was coming to an intersection where cross traffic was supposed to stop. I saw a school bus coming under the freeway and at some point realized she wasn't stopping but it was too late for me to stop so I kept driving hoping we would clear her. I swerved over and very clearly remember the sound of the bus hitting us, windows breaking and seconds later realized that my car was starting to flip. I do not remember anything until the time the car came to a stop.
We were on our side with the passenger door to the ground and my head was touching the roof and I am only 5' tall on a good day. As soon as I came too, I unbuckled my seat and jumped up and turned to the backseat - I could see the car seat but since it was rear facing not the baby. Seconds seemed like an eternity until he started to cry. I started screaming, "Help! I have a baby." I could not get to him because the roof was crushed. Finally, some nice people came and got him out by crawling in through what had been the back window of the car.
The emergency crews got me out when they arrived it wasn't until then I realized I was in pain. I suffered a head injury, a slipped disk in my back and a torn ligament in my knee. Howeve,r Parker was unharmed; not a scratch on his beautiful little face. My husband told me later that one of the Firefighter/EMT's told him that he had saved his life that day by making sure he was in a well installed carseat. That is something we will never forget and thank God that overall we were ok.
I have included a picture of the car after the wreck - the quality is not great as it was with a car phone at the wrecking yard.
I am now the mother of three children and car seat safety is a passion of mine. I know that without it, my baby would not be here. He is now a happy healthy 4 year old and rides in a Britax Regent thanks to the info I got from the Kyle David Miller video.
