SAN ANTONIO – The parents of a local teen are urging Texans to buckle up after their daughter was killed in a car accident.
Kailee Mills was killed on Oct. 28, 2017, after she was thrown from a car while riding with her friends to a Halloween party.
Mills’ friends, who were all wearing their seat belts, escaped the accident with only minor injuries.
“We don’t know why Kailee had taken off her seat belt,” said Kailee’s father, David Mills. “She always wore it. We never thought this would happen to us -- to our daughter. We know that if she had been wearing her seat belt, she'd still be here. Instead, the girl we called our ‘ray of sunshine’ is gone.”
Statewide seat belt use continues to increase, reaching nearly 92 percent for 2017, yet 929 unbuckled Texans still died in traffic crashes last year, according to a press release.
TxDOT continues their “Click It or Ticket” campaign every year and estimates that the campaign has saved:
- 5,473 lives
- 95,500 serious injuries
- $20.7 billion in economic costs
Texas seat belt laws:
- Everyone in a vehicle must be properly buckled up or face fines.
- Children younger than 8 must be in a child safety or booster seat, unless they’re taller than 4 feet 9 inches.
- Drivers will face fines if children aren’t properly restrained.
Wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of dying in a crash by 45 percent. That number jumps to 60 percent for pickup trucks, according to a press release.