Seatbelts Saved Their Lives

A nanny and her three young passengers survive a serious auto accident.

Government rules now require tether strapping for added protection.

A five-point harness (shoulder straps, lap belt and strap between legs) is most effective in a crash.

“The boys. The boys. Are they OK?” Jennifer Hardner-Emery wondered as she sat pinned in her car on a winter’s day that changed her life.

A nanny for three boys aged 1 to 4, Hardner-Emery was driving them back to their Emmaus home after a visit to the library last year. When the 32-year-old Trexlertown woman rounded a curve, she “saw a truck sideways across the road.” Both the truck and her car crashed through a guardrail and tumbled down an embankment. The truck landed on the car’s hood.

“I tried to move, but couldn’t,” says Hardner-Emery, who was trapped in her seat by the dashboard and steering wheel. “A bystander got the kids out of the car, and when I heard them outside I was so relieved.”

Amazingly, all three children needed no more than observation at Lehigh Valley Hospital (the region’s only pediatric-accredited trauma center). Car seats were the major reason they escaped unharmed, says trauma surgeon Michael Pasquale, M.D. And while their nanny sustained serious injuries, her seatbelt and airbag did protect her from paralysis or death, he says.

Hardner-Emery was in a state of shock with multiple other injuries when she arrived in the trauma unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital. Within minutes, the trauma surgery team began repairing the most life-threatening problems, a torn liver and spleen.

Hardner-Emery underwent three more surgeries in the next two weeks to repair broken bones. She lay in a medically induced coma to help her heal from the numerous effects of the accident.

She returned home and began rehabilitation just nine days after waking, and her relentlessly positive attitude kept her focused on getting better again. “I wasn’t strong enough to stand when I came home,” she says, “but I never doubted I would walk again.”

A smart choice

In a striking example of fortunate coincidence, Hardner-Emery had leased new safety seats from the Allentown Health Bureau just days before the accident. “I remember installing them,” she says. “I put them side-by-side-by-side in the back seat, and placed the kids in and out to be sure they were a perfect fit.”

That perfect fit is of utmost importance, says trauma coordinator Betsy Seislove, R.N., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. While car seats offer excellent protection by absorbing the force of impact in an accident, they do so only if properly installed. And recent studies show that nearly three-quarters of child car seats are not used properly.

“You need to read the manuals for both the car seat and your car,” Seislove says. “Even if you understand the instructions, it’s suggested that you get a car seat safety inspection.” These are given free of charge by many local police departments.

Hardner-Emery, who never wore a seatbelt until she became a nanny at age 21, doesn’t need any reminders of how vital these safety features are. Today, she’s telling her story to the community to raise awareness about car seats. “I’d love to do more,” she says. “I know how fortunate I am to be alive.”

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