A pregnant friend was in a crash-updated with pics

My friend (and H's old swim instructor) was in a side impact crash a couple of weeks ago. She's 7 months pregnant. She was driving, her mother was in the passenger seat, her almost-5yo was in a TurboBooster outboard in the middle row, and her 16mo was rear-facing in a Cosco 3-in-1, also outboard in the middle row. She drives a 2000 or 2001 Ford Expedition.

She was driving on a road with a 45mph speed limit and was T-boned by a Toyota Yaris, right into the door next to her rear-facing 16mo.

Both kids are absolutely fine. My pregnant friend is also fine, but a little sore. Her mom is more banged up, even though she was on the opposite side of the vehicle from where they got hit.

She thanked me profusely for convincing her to turn her daughter back rear-facing a month or two ago. She had her rear-facing until about 14 months, but uninstalled it and couldn't get it re-installed rear-facing with her big belly in the way, LOL. So she installed it forward-facing, thinking she met all the requirements and it would be fine. When she came over and I saw that, I immediately showed her all the RF info and she asked me to install the seat RF for her (she really can't do it right now).

She said the baby actually slept through the crash, even though it was on her side! I was amazed. She also said the seat was still very tight after the crash. Her daughter only has a tiny bruise on one shoulder.

Her insurance company gave her no hassle at all with replacing their two seats, but she replaced them with two 3-in-1s, and bought a new TurboBooster for her oldest. She plans on using one of the 3-in-1s for the 16mo and one of them for the new baby after the infant seat is outgrown.

She knows the downfalls of the seats, but loves them anyway, and is convinced to use them to the full 35 pounds rear-facing, so I'm happy enough. She saw the Nautilus and said she will end up with that, or something like it, for the baby when she outgrows the 3-in-1, so at least I've convinced her on the benefits of ERF and EH, even if she won't put her big almost-5yo back in a harness.

I have pics, but I can't find my download cord. I need to go unpack my bags, I know it's there.

Re: A pregnant friend was in a crash

wow scarey! I would so be getting the more expensive seats. Even if it was a britax cause the money would be replaced by the insurance company.
I have heard that if a child sleeps through a crash like that you know the seats were installed well! I am glad that everyone is doing ok and was not seriously hurt.

Re: A pregnant friend was in a crash

She's fine because she was driving an Expedition and got hit by a Yaris, LOL!!!!

No really. Glad everyone is ok and that baby was RF. How big is her 4yo? Wish she would've got a 3in1 and a Nautilus instead, but apparently she was sitting properly in the booster, right?!

It's interesting about the injuries. Her mom and DD were on the passenger side, the side that DIDN'T get hit, and were more banged up than the two (three?) most fragile people in the car....

Re: A pregnant friend was in a crash

Oh, WOW, Jenny that is awesome.!!!

Re: A pregnant friend was in a crash

Her 4yo (will be 5 very soon) is well over 40 pounds. She's not long-torsoed, though, actually just the opposite, so she WOULD fit a few harnessed seats for awhile, but she does sit in her booster very well, so they don't see the need to make a change. She was at least harnessed until right around her 4th birthday, until she hit 40 pounds.

The dd who was RF was on the side that did get hit, the driver's side, middle row. The boostered dd was on the passenger side, same as the grandma.

I'm going to find my camera cord so I can download the pics of the vehicle door.

Re: A pregnant friend was in a crash

scatterbunny said:

Both kids are absolutely fine. My pregnant friend is also fine, but a little sore. Her mom is more banged up, even though she was on the opposite side of the vehicle from where they got hit.

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scatterbunny said:

The dd who was RF was on the side that did get hit, the driver's side, middle row. The boostered dd was on the passenger side, same as the grandma.

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Right....Pg lady and RF 16mth old are fine - although mom is sore. But they're the ones that got the impact.

However, on the other side of the car, grandma is more banged up and 4yo has a bruise.

That's what I find interesting. Even though the drivers side got hit, more of the force (or whatever we want to call it here) seems to have gone to the opposite side of the car.

Or it could be a huge coincidence(sp?) and I could shut my mouth and go make dinner....

Re: A pregnant friend was in a crash

Actually, the RF baby is the one who had a little bruise. The 4yo is totally fine. But yes, the fact that the pg mom and baby are fine, despite the impact being on that side, is odd. And grandma was farthest from the impact, but she hurts the worst. Mom thinks it might be because grandma tried to "brace herself", and mom just kept her hands on the wheel and tried to keep from rolling over (she said she was so scared because they "wobbled" like they were going to tip over), and tried to stay calm and relaxed.

Re: A pregnant friend was in a crash

I'm glad they're okay. I think it also shows that all seats, even the ones we don't love, can do what they need to do when they are properly used.

Misty-Bug said:

wow scarey! I would so be getting the more expensive seats. Even if it was a britax cause the money would be replaced by the insurance company.

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Expensive doesn't mean good, and insurance should not pay for upgrades.

Re: A pregnant friend was in a crash

chickabiddy said:

I'm glad they're okay. I think it also shows that all seats, even the ones we don't love, can do what they need to do when they are properly used.

Expensive doesn't mean good, and insurance should not pay for upgrades.

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:yeahthat: The 3-in-1 did a great job. She's happy with them. She's aware of the limitations of the seats, and she's willing to go with something like the Nautilus when the 3-in-1 harnesses are outgrown.

Re: A pregnant friend was in a crash

Okay, I finally found my cord and got the pics of her vehicle uploaded to Photobucket. These are clickable thumbnails, so you can make them bigger. My friend was very happy she drives a big/tall vehicle, and that the vehicle that hit them was smaller/shorter.

Re: A pregnant friend was in a crash

I am glad everyone is okay! It is great the baby was rearfacing, it makes you wonder what could have happened if it is was forward facing.

:thumbsup: Yayy for ERFing and for having her seats installed properly.

that is BAD. Are they writing off the vehicle or will it be fixed? I hope the frame isn't twisted cause then that can cause more problems. I AM SO GLAD that everyone was ok......and holy smokes look at that cute tiny belly!!

Yes, her insurance company is totalling the vehicle. She wants to get it fixed and keep it, though. I did tell her I didn't think that would be a smart idea. She says she won't seat anyone in the spot nearest the weakened door/frame. I don't think that sounds like such a good plan.

scatterbunny said:

Yes, her insurance company is totalling the vehicle. She wants to get it fixed and keep it, though. I did tell her I didn't think that would be a smart idea. She says she won't seat anyone in the spot nearest the weakened door/frame. I don't think that sounds like such a good plan.

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ummmmmm
NOT a good idea. If they are totalling the vehicle they will give her a cheque and then write off the vehicle. Then if she is EVER in a crash again the insurance company will not touch it cause the vehicle is already written off. She can just turn around and get a new one with what the inurance company gives her. That is sill, IMHO, to fix that. There could be too many potential problems. Plus what good is a vehicle if you can't use one of the seat???
at least that has been MY experience. But I am in Canada also....

Oh, yeah, total it. My frame was twisted on the explorer and DH"s mechanic friend said that it would never drive the same again because there was not way to square the frame back up and it would no longer be aerodynamic or something another like that (it was 2+ years ago) Even without GAP insurance (which we had) he said he wouldn't do it.

chickabiddy said:

Expensive doesn't mean good, and insurance should not pay for upgrades.

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:yeahthat: It really bothers me when people take advantage of the insurance companies to "upgrade" their seats. If you want to purchase a more expensive seat for whatever reason, then suck it up & pay the difference. Insurance is there to get you back to where you were, not to bump you up a notch.

scatterbunny said:

Yes, her insurance company is totalling the vehicle. She wants to get it fixed and keep it, though. I did tell her I didn't think that would be a smart idea. She says she won't seat anyone in the spot nearest the weakened door/frame. I don't think that sounds like such a good plan.

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You might also remind her that the "total" will show up on the report when she tries to sell the vehicle later. Any buyer will be very reluctant to purchase a vehicle that has been totaled...

houseofboys said:

:yeahthat: It really bothers me when people take advantage of the insurance companies to "upgrade" their seats. If you want to purchase a more expensive seat for whatever reason, then suck it up & pay the difference. Insurance is there to get you back to where you were, not to bump you up a notch.

You might also remind her that the "total" will show up on the report when she tries to sell the vehicle later. Any buyer will be very reluctant to purchase a vehicle that has been totaled...

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I hope you don't think that is what I was meaning....
I more mean that fork out the money to get the new seats then get reimbursed for how much you paid for the original seats. Not sure if that makes sense. If she still has the receipts from the original purchase she can give that then get that money and use that money plus her own to get upgraded seats

arly1983 said:

Oh, yeah, total it. My frame was twisted on the explorer and DH"s mechanic friend said that it would never drive the same again because there was not way to square the frame back up and it would no longer be aerodynamic or something another like that (it was 2+ years ago) Even without GAP insurance (which we had) he said he wouldn't do it.

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Absolutely total it! They refused to total our van when we got t-boned. I still have it, and the frame is still twisted. We've had problems with three of the doors off and on since the wreck, and the alignment always needed adjusted more frequently or we wore out the tires unevenly. :thumbsdown:

This is great news - that she won't harness the almost 5 year old, but you can take a horse to water..... So glad everyone was OK.

I'm 7.5 months along and still installing car seats - yeah, I'm crazy!