This is the story when Ivan and his 4-year-old son Jonáš experienced a horrible car accident on their way to kindergarten, on a foggy morning in April. Their car rolled over and ended up completely upside down, but miraculously his 4-year-old son was unharmed thanks to his rear-facing car seat – an Axkid Minikid 3.
The accident
Ivan and his son left for kindergarten earlier than usual, it was 6AM and they were driving the very familiar route in peace and quiet. The fog outside quickly thickened, and suddenly, a car from the right lane crossed Ivans’ path, forcing him to avoid a crash by going as far left as possible. Nonetheless, a car crash was inevitable, and their car rolled over and crashed into another car that was standing in a queue. This whole incident was then followed by another crash, as a car drove into the crash area.
It all happened in, what it feels like according to Ivan, one second.
The outcome
As a father, Ivans’ first instinct was to check on his son, Jonáš. After getting out of the car through the side window, Ivan was relieved seeing that Jonáš was unharmed, although he hung upside down, still in his car seat Axkid Minikid 3. The car seat was in its original position after the accident, and Ivan is convinced that it saved his son from worse outcomes. They were transported with ambulance to the hospital, where they performed an ultrasound examination of Jonáš’s abdomen without any findings.
Ivan has some important key takeaways from his horrible experience:
“If I could recommend anything to others, it would definitely be a rear-facing car seat. Of course, every accident is different and can have different consequences, but in my case it definitely worked. I have been driving for 32 years and this was my first accident. I used a rear-facing seat thanks to Jonáš’s mother, who read from various forums that a rear-facing seat is much safer!”
The car seat in original position, although the car is upside down.
Closing words from Ivan
“I share my story because an accident can happen to anyone, and the most valuable things we have are our children and our health. The [rear-facing] seat helped me and maybe it will help someone else thanks to my story.”
We want to thank Ivan for sharing his important story, which hopefully can help keeping more children out there safely rear-faced in the car.
