NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEBRASKA STATE PATROL
www.nsp.state.ne.us
Contact: Deb Collins 402-479-4985 or
Sgt. Darwin Daily 308-385-6000
September 14, 2009

Troop C Unveils New Educational Tool

(Grand Island, NE)-  Seat belts save lives, a simple message driven home by the sight of a smashed up car sitting on a flatbed trailer.  The “Crash Car” is the most recent addition to an arsenal of safety displays and interactive educational tools utilized by the Nebraska State Patrol to get motorists to buckle-up.

The green 1997 Chevy Lumina perched on the portable flatbed trailer, is a vivid reminder of a cold Christmas Day in 2007.  The driver and sole occupant of the green Chevy was eastbound on a gravel county road in rural Hamilton County.  As the car approached a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 14, the driver was unable to stop the vehicle due to ice and snow pack on the gravel road.  The Chevy slid into the intersection and was struck broadside by a northbound Pontiac.  Both vehicles came to rest upside down in the east ditch of Highway 14.

The driver of the Chevy and the two people in the other vehicle were all wearing their seat belts and walked away from the crash with only minor injuries.

While not every crash is survivable, statistics from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety show seat belts increase your odds of surviving a crash by up to 50%.  Viewing the Troop C “Crash Car” drives home the importance of putting the odds in your favor and buckling up each and every time you get into a motor vehicle.

The Nebraska State Patrol Troop C Headquarters- Grand Island would like to thank the following community sponsors for their support and dedication to saving lives:

-Levander’s Auto Service Center	-Lone Tree Towing & Recovery
-Eustis Body Shop	-Tri City Sign Company
-Baasch Welding

The willingness of the community sponsors to assist in this project was pivotal in the completion of this powerful display platform.  The “Crash Car” will join the Nebraska State Patrol’s Rollover Simulators and Seat Belt Convincers used to educate the citizens of our state about the importance of seat belts and their effectiveness in saving lives and preventing fatalities.

Troop C "Crash Car" seat belt safety display

Community Sponsors Make Seat Belt Safety Display Possible

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