AUSTIN (KTAl/KSHV) – The Texas Department of Transportation has enlisted the assistance of a teen whose truck was caught in a tornado in March to display the significance of security belts.
TxDOT’s “Click it or Ticket” campaign will characteristic Riley Leon, the 16-year-old who gained some viral fame when his pickup truck was tossed round by a tornado in March as he was driving house from a job interview.
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Red pickup truck after flipping over in Elgin tornado on March 21, 2022 (KXAN Photo/Brianna Hollis) -
Riley Leon, 16, stands in entrance of his Manor, Texas house a number of days after being hit by a tornado in his pink truck (KXAN photograph/Mariano Garza) -
Red pickup truck after flipping over in Elgin tornado on March 21, 2022 (KXAN Photo/Brianna Hollis) -
Texas teen Riley Leon, 16, speaks TXDOT’s 2022 ‘Click it or Ticket’ seatbelt consciousness and enforcement campaign launch in Austin on May 16, 2021. (Source: Texas Department of Transportation) -
Darcey Goodloe was a Waco highschool scholar on Feb. 13, 2010 when her truck was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler. The influence despatched her truck throughout a number of lanes on icy I-35 and right into a median, the place it landed vertically, face down. She was sporting her seat belt and survived with just some scratches. (Source: Texas Department of Transportation) -
In the years since her crash, Darcey Goodloe has graduated from Texas Tech, turn into a kindergarten instructor, gotten married, and is now anticipating her first baby (a boy!)—none of which can have occurred had she not chosen to buckle up that morning. (Source: Texas Department of Transportation)
Video captured by a witness went viral, fueled additional by the truth that Leon survived with just some cuts on his arms and a minor fracture in his again. Leon believes he lived to inform the story as a result of he was sporting a seatbelt.
“It was a few days after that I spotted. Thankful to God I wore my seatbelt that day. Because if not, the accident may have been extra tragic. I in all probability wouldn’t be right here at this second with out my seatbelt, however grateful I wore it, and I’m right here telling this story that lots of people in all probability wouldn’t consider if I used to be not right here.
According to TXDOT, there have been 3,507 crashes in 2021 wherein unbuckled folks sustained severe accidents – a 14% improve from the earlier yr. Wearing a seat belt within the entrance seat of a passenger automotive diminished the danger of fatality by 45%. Seatbelt fatalities dropped by 60% for these in pickup vans concerned in crashes.
“Always buckle up, whether you’re going a short or long distance. Doesn’t matter if you’re the passenger or the driver, buckle up,” Leon stated.
The ‘Click It Or Ticket’ campaign additionally encompasses a Waco lady who was a highschool scholar in February 2010 when an 18-wheeler rear-ended her truck. The influence despatched her truck throughout a number of lanes on an icy I-35 and right into a median, the place it landed vertically, face down. She was sporting her seat belt and survived with just some scratches.
In the years since her crash, Darcey Goodloe has graduated from Texas Tech, turn into a kindergarten instructor, gotten married, and is now anticipating her first baby (a boy!)—none of which can have occurred had she not chosen to buckle up that morning.
