Mom's 'Nagging Wife' Reply For a Loose Car Seat Saves Baby Boy's Life From a Car Wreck
Rebecca Tafaro Boyer of Memphis sought "hourly updates and recaps" from her husband David on how their 3-month-old son William was doing since she was away because it was her first day at work after the maternity leave. David dutifully sent updates all day long, including a picture of William in his car seat from when they stopped at Walgreens.
"My 'nagging wife' reply to my husband was to correct William's position in the car seat," Boyer explained in a Facebook post in July 2018. "The straps were too loose, and the chest clip was way too low. And because I know my husband, I'm sure that he laughed at me and rolled his eyes before tightening the car seat and fixing the chest clip," said Rebecca.
Later Boyer went on to narrate that her husband had called her and said, "Honey, we had a car wreck. We are fine, but the car is going to be totaled." She further wrote that they were just two or three miles away from their home when a lady drove into traffic to make a left turn, and her husband failed to stop in time. She recounted on her Facebook post, "slammed on the brakes at nearly 50 miles an hour before colliding with the front passenger side door of her SUV."
William's life was saved thanks to Rebecca's "nagging" texts that ensured the infant was properly restrained in the car seat. "My precious little bundle of joy was so well restrained in his car seat THAT HE DIDN'T EVEN WAKE UP. Even with the impact of the two cars, William only received a minor jolt—so insignificant that he was able to continue on with his nap and then spend the next two hours flirting with nurses in the Le Bonheur ED," she shared in the post.
Boyer’s husband wasn’t that lucky; she explains how he was hobbling about on crutches due to three broken bones in his foot and three dislocated toes. Boyer told TODAY that she wanted to share her experience to encourage other parents to use car seats properly. She said that all children under the age of two should ride in the back seat of a vehicle, strapped with a five-point harness in a car seat that doesn't move more than an inch in any way. "I am so thankful that my husband took the extra one minute that was necessary to put William in his car seat safely. I can't even begin to imagine how different the outcome could have been, I truly believe that the reason my family is at home sitting on the couch with a pair of crutches instead of down at the hospital is because of my annoying, nagging mom's voice." Boyer wrote.
Boyer said she shared her story publicly because of her friends, and she was "shocked" when the post received over 45,000 shares. After readers recognized the Britax BSafe 35 car seat as the one that saved William's life, the company contacted Boyer about providing a free replacement seat. Boyer said that she and her husband were grateful for the present but that they were able to get a new Britax car seat via their insurance.