CONROE Jeremy Haynes describes his experience of rolling inside a 1987 Jeep Cherokee end-over-end “like a roller coaster gone bad.”
“You don’t know if it’s going to stop,” said the 17-year-old Conroe High School junior, who is a member of the varsity tennis team and active in several clubs. “You don’t know if you’re going to come out of it alive.”
Fortunately for Haynes, he survived the February collision thanks to buckling his safety belt, but still has hope authorities can find the person that pulled out in front of Haynes and a group of cars traveling westbound one evening on Highway 105 in Montgomery County.
Marlene Albers, rural passenger safety coordinator with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service in College Station, said it’s important that people remember to buckle up, especially with the Easter holiday approaching.
“It only takes a few seconds to buckle up and save your life,” Albers said. “If you roll a vehicle of any kind and you’re in a safety belt, you’re not going to get bounced around inside the car and sustain injuries.
“I witnessed Jeremy’s crash and thought it was not a survivable crash. I was totally amazed when I saw him alive and he said he had been belted … I was just amazed.”
Haynes recalls getting off work from his part-time job at Furrow Building Materials at approximately 9 p.m. and looking forward to a little relaxation once he arrived home. But then an unfortunate chain of events occurred.
“I was behind a white Lincoln, then I saw a red Firebird off to the side,” said Haynes. “It looked as if it was going to pull out in front of us, but I didn’t think it was. I was thinking, If you’re smart, you won’t.'”
But the Firebird did, pulling out in front of the group of cars within 30 feet. The next three minutes Haynes said he will never forget.
“Everybody slammed on their brakes,” Haynes said. “My brakes locked up and I didn’t have that fast of a stop, so I had to swerve around people so that I didn’t hit anybody. I remember I was in the incoming lane because I was swerving so much. Then I swerved out of the oncoming lane to avoid hitting a car. Then I was in the median and I just started rolling. The next thing I remember was sitting upside down thinking it was a dream.”
Haynes’ driver’s side window was shattered. With a few pieces of glass stuck in his ear, Haynes unbuckled his safety belt and was able to crawl through the passenger side window, walking away without serious injury.
“I crawled out of my car and I was in awe,” he said. “I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Then everybody came by and asked if anybody was in the car. They asked if I was OK. I had my safety belt on the minute I got into the car. That’s what saved my life. I had several people tell me that.”
Linda Mock, an Extension agent-family and consumer science in Montgomery County, said it’s important for everyone to wear a safety belt regardless of their age.
“I live on Highway 105 West and see how people drive and how important it is to buckle up,” Mock said. “They recently increased the speed limit to 70 mph, then dropped it to 65 mph hoping to curtail some of the collisions. Most of the fatalities that we’ve seen on that highway involved those people who were not wearing a safety belt.”
Mock noted four students from Montgomery High School involved in car crashes on Highway 105 have died since January 1999 a couple of the fatalities were due to not wearing a safety belt.
Mock and other Extension agents offer educational programs in passenger safety in schools and as part of regular health fairs. The Extension’s passenger safety message also appears in several county newspapers.
“If we save one life with our education, then we’ve been successful,” Mock said.
Extension’s passenger safety project, in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and in collaboration with county Extension agents, provide education and interactive activities focusing on occupant protection issues.
The hallmark of the rural passenger safety project is the “Rollover Convincer,” a pickup cab mounted on a trailer featuring both an adult and child dummy. A child safety seat is also included. The demonstration shows what happens if the dummies are restrained during a simulated rollover. Then dummies are unbuckled and the demonstration shows what happens when not buckled.
More than 600,000 have viewed the rollover convincer in Texas. The rollover convincer can be seen at health fairs, schools and child safety seat checkup events and Extension agent programs targeted at passenger safety.
Haynes said he is sold on the fact of buckling up before driving. In his case, it was a life saver.
“What I tell people is definitely never drink and drive,” he said. “Second, always wear your safety belt. That’s what saved my life. Even if I would have had an air bag and didn’t have my safety belt on, I’d probably be dead.”
Haynes’ mother, Tracy Wheat, recalls her son lamenting over the fact that his Jeep Cherokee was totaled and he no longer had a car.
“I just wanted to shake him and say, You’re alive. Forget the car,'” Wheat said. “If I would have lost him, I would have lost my world.”
For more information about Extension passenger safety programs, call Myrna Hill with Extension Rural Passenger Safety Education at (979) 845-1104.
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