Imagine how terrifying it must be driving your kids around without a car seat. That was a reality for one Texas family who couldn’t afford them, before a couple of generous cops pulled them over. This definitely isn’t a story you hear every day.
Police officers Justin Gower and Cale Hawkins stopped a truck for a faulty tail light in Cedar Park, Texas when they noticed three kids (ages 1, 3, and 4) in the backseat, but none of them were in car seats. Instead of giving their dad a ticket, the cops did the unbelievable–they pooled their money together to buy him three new car seats, KXAN reports.
According to the officers, they are familiar with the financial struggles the family currently faces–Officer Gower stated: “They’re trying to get things going, they’re going in the right direction, and to issue them three citations for each child, would just devastate them.”
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While the family wishes to remain anonymous, they told KXAN that they feel “blessed” by the officers’ generosity. Parenting is hard work on many different levels, and the fact that strangers went out of their way to support struggling parents instead of judging or punishing them illustrates how a little help can go a long way.
Making sure every child is safe while riding in a motor vehicle is crucial, and according to the CDC reports, car seats reduce the risk of death by 71% for babies and 54% for toddlers. This means no child should ride without the proper safety gear, just because their parents can’t afford them. We hope this story will be an example to inspire others to donate car seats to those in need.
