SAN ANTONIO – A crash that left six children critically injured and three other people hurt could have had a whole different outcome if seatbelts had been used, according to San Antonio police.
The crash, which happened after 7 p.m. Sunday on Interstate 35 near Frost Bank Center Drive, involved a single vehicle, an SUV.
Driver faces child endangerment charges after 6 children ejected in I-35 crash, SAPD says
Police say there was a total of seven children and two adults in the vehicle. Only one child was wearing a seatbelt.
The other six children, all between the ages of 2 and 11, were ejected during the crash.
“I can’t stress it enough. In this situation, I think if those children were wearing a seatbelt, I don’t think they would be ejected,” Officer Nicholas Soliz, a public information officer for SAPD, said at the scene.
A preliminary report released Monday morning stated that the driver of the SUV would be facing charges of endangering a child. However, it did not indicate who was driving the vehicle at the time.
The report said the crash was still under investigation.
“According to a witness, that vehicle had a tire blow out. The driver overcorrected, lost control, and hit the tree, and that’s when the children were ejected,” Soliz said.
Information from the America Automobile Association (AAA) suggests that there are steps to take to avoid problems such as a tire blowout.
The organization recommends that drivers conduct monthly inspections of their tires, including checking for proper inflation, tread wear, and any abnormalities.
AAA also says tires should be rotated every 5,000-7,000 miles.
After every new tire installation, tires should be balanced, and wheels should be aligned, the agency says.