I love watching toddlers walk their little wobbly walks just about anywhere, but I was not prepared to see the horrifying video footage of two toddlers in diapers walking on a highway. This footage was taken in Texas after the car the children were in was in an crash that flipped the vehicle over and sent the toddlers flying out of the car.
More from MamásLatinas: Tips and tricks for traveling with kids of any age
The good news is that the toddlers appear to be unharmed or at least not horribly injured despite the severity of the accident. Also, the footage shared via X only shows the aftermath of the crash, not the actual crash. Thank goodness because I don’t think anyone needs to see those toddlers being ejected from the vehicle. That's the stuff of nightmares. Keep reading for more details and to see how those two tiny beings miraculously survived.
The accident happened in Texas on Sunday, August 11.
“Deputies responded to a major crash on the main lanes of the East Freeway at Freeport. A two-car crash where one of the cars flipped over several times causing ejection,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez shared via X.
“The car was occupied by one adult and two children. They are being transported to a hospital. No reported injuries to the occupants in the other car,” he continued in a subsequent post.
The footage is of the aftermath is astounding.
The video was recorded by Victor Cordova, who witnessed the crash as he was driving home. “I thought they actually passed away. I thought they were dead,” he told Houston’s KTRK-TV.
Miraculously, the children got up and started walking. And somehow, the children who are 1 and 4, also managed not to get hit by other cars. In the video, you can see that one of the kids is being comforted by an adult as another adult, who appears to be the kids' father, runs to scoop up the other child.
Victor, who is a father, felt compelled to share the video he took to remind others how important it is to use car seats for young children's safety. “For parents, for everybody, even if it's a short distance, [you need] awareness. To make sure you secure your kids properly,” Victor said.
It wasn’t immediately reported whether the children who were traveling with their father were in car seats at the time. The local sheriff's office has said that the father could face criminal charges for not having the children restrained in the car.
The thing is that even if they were in car seats, they could not have possibly been secured properly because being ejected out of vehicles is one of the things car seats are supposed to prevent.
Please travel safely.
If you have children in car seats, please make sure that the seats are up to date, haven’t had any recalls, are installed correctly, and that children are always strapped in properly. If you aren’t sure whether the car seat is installed correctly, check with your local highway patrol or health department to locate a technician or fitting station in your area.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “About half of all car and booster seats—46%—are NOT used correctly.” Don't wait until it's too late to find out if you are using yours correctly.
Never be ashamed to ask for or accept guidance from experts on how to properly use car seats. You can't know everything. I know that when my kids were little I was grateful to find out things I didn't know, like how a puffy jacket can affect their safety in the car.
