Submitted by the Dalton Police Department
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A 2-year-old girl escaped serious injury Wednesday morning when a vehicle she was riding in was involved in a rollover crash on South Thornton Avenue just north of Conway Street. Investigators at the scene determined the child received no injuries because she was properly restrained in a child restraint system (CRS).
The crash occurred just after 8 .m. when the child’s mother, Carina Sanoval-Huijon, 29, of Dalton, said she swerved the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer she was driving to avoid a vehicle that had stopped in front of her. Sanoval-Huijon was not injured but was charged with failure to maintain lane. The SUV they were traveling in left the road and overturned in a 5-foot ditch.
“Every day across Georgia children escape serious injury because they are properly restrained in approved child restraint systems when the vehicle they are traveling in becomes involved in a violent crash,” said Steve Zahn with the Dalton Police Department’s traffic enforcement unit. “It is proven that Georgia’s occupant safety laws do save lives.”
The department would like to remind parents that all children under the age of 6 must be properly restrained in a child restraint system when traveling in a vehicle on roads in Georgia. If there are any questions about proper CRS use or installation individuals can come to the Dalton Police Department Service Center at 301 Jones St., or call the traffic enforcement unit at (706) 278-9085, extension 124.
Car seat info at National Night Out on Tuesday
Information on child car seat safety will be available at the National Night Out from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday at the North Georgia Fairgrounds at 500 Legion Drive. The public safety health fair that also features several law enforcement, fire and emergency response agencies will feature “plenty of fun for the whole family,” said spokesman Bruce Frazier with the Dalton Police Department.
Retta Gavin of North Georgia Safety Association and Safe Kids of Georgia said there will be “booster seat” demonstrations for older children who have outgrown infant seats.
“We’re really looking at the kids that are going into school — not that we’ve by any means gotten all the kids in car seats — but we see large quantities of those kids (who) by law can come out of the (infant) seat, but by safety features still need to be in a booster seat. And we’re seeing a lot of injuries and death from that age group (in car crashes).”
Gavin said she instructs parents every day about proper installation of infant and booster seats at the safety association offices at 1104 Boylston St. She can be reached at (706) 913-7908.
