Saved by the belt

A Sedalia grandmother had a firefighter install a car seat for her 1-year-old grandson, and 27 days later she believes the seat saved his life.

Diane Wolf, 60, is sure without the properly installed safety seat her grandson, Carson Smith, of Otterville, would have been thrown from her Trail Blazer.

“Basically, the seat belt saved both me and my grandson’s lives,” Wolf said.

Wolf had taken Carson to Kansas City to visit her sister who was in town. She was driving home about 7:30 p.m. Sunday east of Warrensburg when the accident happened.

Wolf was in the left lane and another vehicle in the right lane was driving too closely to her, forcing her off the road.

“It was either hit him or the ditch,” she said.

Wolf overcorrected and the vehicle went off the road and rolled over. Carson’s car seat didn’t budge during the crash and he was unharmed. Wolf had a cracked rib and bruises from the seat belt.

The grandmother is grateful she had the car seat installed properly. She had heard about the safety seat installation program offered by the Sedalia fire and police departments. Fire Chief Mike Ditzfeld saw Wolf at a store and told her more about the program. She went to the fire station shortly afterwards.

“I felt confident coming here because I knew these guys,” said Wolf, who used to work at a nearby grocery store where the firefighters shopped.

Firefighter Aaron Szudajski installed the first seat June 1 and put in a replacement Tuesday. He had to take a 40-hour class to become a certified safety seat technician.

“It makes me feel good,” Szudajski said of knowing he helped save a child. “It makes you feel like your class really means something.”
About 90 percent of child safety seats are improperly installed.

“You’d be surprised how many people don’t know how to put in a car seat properly,” Szudajski said.

Child safety technicians at the police and fire departments check child safety seats for proper installation and recalls at special events throughout the year. There is also a firefighter on every shift available for walk-ins or appointments. Child safety seats are available through a Missouri Department of Transportation and Division of Highway Safety grant.