Note to police: Thanks for the ticket
A woman sent a thank you note to a Delaware police department after she says a seat belt citation saved her husband’s life.
Michele Warch said her husband, David, might not have survived a crash Tuesday if a Georgetown Police Department officer hadn’t pulled him over in January.
“Thank you, Officer Quillen, for writing my husband that seat belt ticket a month ago,” Michele said in a private Facebook message to the Georgetown PD Facebook page. “I believe that it saved his life, today. We’ve been married for 27 years. We’re raising 2 of our grandchildren. I need him.”
The message was later made public by Georgetown Police Department spokesman Detective Joey Melvin.
The accident happened in the early morning hours Tuesday near Smyrna, Del. David Warch was traveling to work in his Dodge Ram pickup when a Toyota crossed the center line and hit him head on, according to Delaware State Police.
Both vehicles were totaled. The impact removed Warch’s grill, headlights and a front wheel and buckled the driver’s side doors.
The driver of the Toyota was airlifted to Christiana Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening. He was later cited for failing to remain in a single lane, according to Delaware State Police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier.
Warch walked away with some bruising. He was taken to Christiana to be examined and released.
“On occasion, we get messages from the public,” Melvin said. “But this is the kind of message that we don’t get too often.”
Michele Warch said David was issued a citation by Georgetown Police Officer Ka- tie Quillen last month because he had his seat belt tucked under one arm instead of buckled across his torso. With it came a $94 fine. He didn’t want to repeat the fine, so he started wearing his seat belt correctly, his wife said.
Michele said a Delaware state trooper at the scene told her that a belt tucked under the arm could fracture ribs, which could puncture internal organs, often fatally.
When Michele met David at Christiana, he told her, “The first thing I need to do is call that officer to say ‘thank you.’ ”
Everybody hears the message about seat belts saving lives, Melvin said, but not everybody gets the message.