CORDELE, Ga. — More than 15,000 lives are saved each year in the United States because drivers who got into car accidents buckled up. A Crisp County corporal is one of them.
Cpl. Kris Herrick says October 2008 opened his eyes. Back then he was working for the Cordele Police Department and was assisting the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office with a car chase.
“It was a suspected impaired driver that we were pursuing and there was a good bit of distance between me and the lead deputy in the pursuit,” said Herrick.
Then the unexpected happened.
“In that time, another impaired driver had actually come out of a business, forced me off the road, through a median and hit a culvert,” he said.
He says he had enough speed to where his car went airborne over the suspect’s car.
“The force of impact was enough that it actually shifted the body of a Crown Vic forward on a frame, about 3.5 inches,” said Herrick.
He walked away from the accident with no injuries, but how? A seat belt.
“It was a hard enough crash. I would have definitely been ejected from the vehicle,” he said.
He says it didn't take much time to realize how lucky he was to be alive. Now, he uses his experience as a testimony.
“Since then, it's just been a tool that I use to help impact other people to wear their safety belts and let them know that I am one of the survival stories of wearing a seatbelt and being able to walk away from a serious crash,” he said.
Cpl. Herrick even became a certified child passenger safety seat technician and a frequent volunteer with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
“Wear your seatbelt. A lot of people just think, ‘Oh a $15 fine, it's not a big deal, I'll get the ticket and pay the fine,’ but your life is worth a lot more than $15,” he said.
It’s important to wear your seat belt the right way, which means your lap belt needs to be across your hips and your shoulder belt needs to be across your chest.
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