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First responders urge Missourians to wear seatbelts

BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two deadly car crashes occurred in Mid-Missouri on Wednesday and both share one similarity: seat belts were not worn.

Car wrecks are the fourth leading cause of death in Missouri, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Missouri State Highway Patrol says about two-thirds of the deadly crashes it responds to involve someone not wearing their seat belt.

Boone County Fire Protection District responded to a rollover car crash on Highway 124 last night where a Hallsville teen was killed Wednesday night. Assistant Chief Gale Blomenkamp said the force of a rollover accident pushes unbuckled passengers out windows, which is why people should always wear a seat belt.

"We responded to an accident where the young lady was thrown out of the vehicle. Very survivable inside that cabin, in fact the driver walked away without any injuries and he was seat belted," Blomenkamp said.

The passenger that died in this accident was a teen. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, teens are less likely to wear seat belts than adults.

Blomenkamp said cars are designed to protect a person in the seats of cars, but when someone isn't wearing a seatbelt they get pushed around during a crash.

"If we can keep people inside that passenger compartment they'd stand a lot better chance of fewer injuries and obviously fewer deaths," Blomenkamp said.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop F responded to another deadly car crash Wednesday night near Holts Summit in which a young boy died. Cpl. Kyle Green with MSHP said those who died were not wearing seatbelts.

"You never know if the next time you go for a ride if that's going to be the time that you're involved in some type of traffic crash," Green said. "Do it for your loved ones so we don't have to come knock on their door and let them know that you're not going to make it home."

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Hannah Falcon

Hannah joined the ABC 17 News Team from Houston, Texas, in June 2021. She graduated from Texas A&M University. She was editor of her school newspaper and interned with KPRC in Houston. Hannah also spent a semester in Washington, D.C., and loves political reporting.

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