Mother took a picture of her son in the car - when he died two weeks later, she saw something that everyone else missed - Women After 40

The most important job of any parent is to protect their child from danger.

And like any parent, Holly Wagner did her best to ensure the safety of her children. But then on April 27, 2013, the mother of two from the United States, received a horrifying phone call while she was at work.

Holly’s partner drove her two children to the park, and 3-year-old Connor and 11-month-old Cameron were securely strapped into their car seats – or so it seemed.

Holly’s partner failed to stop at a stop sign and collided with another car. Holly’s two sons were injured and taken to the hospital. Holly’s partner and Connor suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, but 11-month-old Cameron was severely injured.

The doctors informed Holly that Cameron would not survive, and the heartbroken mother had to make the most difficult decision of all, whether to keep him alive with the help of a ventilator or not.

In any case, Cameron would not have survived, but the suffering and pain would have been spared if the doctors had turned off the ventilator.

Holly did not want to see her son suffer, and a few days later he died in his mother’s arms.

According to the police report, Cameron’s cause of death was due to not being properly belted. The lap belt was not fastened, and the chest belt broke during the impact. Additionally, Cameron was facing the direction of travel when the seat belt broke and he was thrown out of the car.

At just 11 months old, Cameron needed to sit with his back facing the direction of travel, but Holly didn’t know that.

“Parents and caregivers should have the right seat for the child’s age and they should install it according to the manufacturer’s instructions”.

According to safety instructions: “a baby up to the age of at least one year must sit in a car seat with his back facing the direction of travel. Even if the child’s weight has exceeded 9 kg, he must sit with his face still facing against the direction of travel in the car. This is because the bones and tendons of the neck are not developed enough and the head is heavy relative to the body, and in the event of an accident there may be serious damage to the spinal cord and head. Sitting against the direction of travel provides the child with the best possible protection”.

Two weeks before the accident, Holly took a picture of Cameron sleeping in his car seat with the direction of travel. At the time, Holly didn’t know that the seat should be facing the opposite direction of travel.

If she had been aware, her son might be alive today.

Now Holly wants to warn parents about the dangers of wearing the wrong seat belt or using the wrong seat, or in the wrong way.

Watch the video about Cameron and his tragic life:

Mother took a picture of her son in the car – when he died two weeks later, she saw something that everyone else missed