Mother’s Worried Text to Husband About Car Seat Keeps Baby Safe in Crash
Make sure that your child’s car seat is appropriate for their size and that the straps are tight.
A Tennessee mother helped save her child's life by sending worried texts to her husband about their child's car seat.
Rebecca Tafaro Boyer, 31, concerned about leaving her three-month-old baby William alone for the first time with her husband David, requested that he send her hourly updates on the baby's condition while she was on her shift at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. One of his updates was a picture of William in a car seat as he set out to do errands.
But the new mother noticed that the straps of her son's car seat were loose and that the chest clip had been placed too low.
“When I actually looked at the picture he sent, I realized that the car seat really wasn’t safely secured," said Boyer to People. “I just sent him a quick text and said, ‘Hey, fix the car seat,’ basically. And he did it — luckily.”
Rebecca received a text from David about 15 minutes later letting her know that he had been in an accident. A car had steered in his direction after he made a left turn at an intersection. Their car was totaled in the crash.
But because David had taken Rebecca's advice and readjusted his son's straps the baby was unharmed and slept through the collision. David on the other hand sustained a few injuries. He broke is foot in several locations and dislocated a few toes.
According to Safe Kids Worldwide, properly secured car seats can reduce the risk of death in infants by up to 71 percent.
