HOW CAR SEAT SAVED BABY

A baby found still strapped in its car seat after a horror crash which killed his parents shows just how important correct restraints are, an advocacy group says.

Nine-month-old Eli and his parents, Christopher O’Byrne, 32, and Brenda Kora, 31, were travelling south on Cambridge Rd on Saturday when the driver lost control on a corner and went into a clockwise rotation with an Isuzu light truck, consequently T-boning the passenger side of the vehicle, police said.

A witness at the crash scene said they found the baby still strapped in his capsule covered in something that looked like grease before being pulled from the car.

Claire Allen and James New were among the first to the scene and Allen said she had always been huge on car seat safety, but she believed [the seat] really did save the baby’s life.

‘‘It was in perfect condition.’’ Plunket regional injury prevention manager Simone Budel said if children were in the right car seats and it was installed correctly and the harness was secured it definitely improved the outcome in crashes and saved lives.

‘‘Keep our children safe and let them grow up and fulfil their potential.’’

She said a crash like this highlighted the importance of proper restraints and Budel wanted to remind people as the driver of any vehicle it was up to you to make sure passengers under 15 were correctly restrained.

A study from Starship Hospital in 2019 found while use of child car seats has improved since a law change in 2013, it still declines as children get older – and many parents do not follow international best practice when it comes to older (age eightplus) children.

The survey, carried out by paediatric surgeon James Hamill, trauma coordinator Julie Chambers and medical student Navneet Singh, covered 300 families who had travelled to the hospital by car with children aged 0-13.

Hamill is involved in injury prevention and treating trauma at Starship Hospital.

‘‘One of the major causes of child injury and death in the country, is from car crashes.

‘‘We know that with children, the use of car seats decreases the rate of injury and death.