Tragic El Paso Crash Shows the Importance of Seat Belts

This is not an easy article to write because it involves the loss of 3 very young, innocent lives. But we have to use this as a lesson. Three children (ages 1, 5, and 6) were laid to rest at La Paz Faith in central El Paso after they passed away in a car accident on Sunday night.

Police officials said Juan Angel Loera, 28, who was driving a 2001 Ford Expedition south on Howard when he failed to yield the right of the way at the stop sign when 18-year-old Luis Javier Ortega driving a 2000 Lincoln LS east on Titanic at a high rate of speed crashed into the Ford Expedition.

For more details on the case, CLICK HERE. Both drivers were arrested.

Ortega was booked into the El Paso County Jail Wednesday for three counts of accident involving death each with a bond of $250,000 and two counts of accident involving personal injury each with a bond of $200,000.

Loera was arrested Thursday and charged with two counts of intoxication assault with a bond of $250,000 and $500,000. Loera was also charged with three counts of murder each with a $1,000,000 bond.

I can't believe I have to say this but yes, driving while intoxicated is a big time no-no. In no way should driving while intoxicated ever be deemed okay. But for some reason, since I'm looking at the seatbelt aspect of this story, people feel that somehow lessens the severity of drunk driving with your kids in your car. If you honestly believe that, you might want to reevaluate your thought process.

Three of the children in Loera's SUV were ejected from the car because they weren't wearing their seat belts and died. It has been reported that Loera had been previously cited for not properly restraining a child in a vehicle.

We give Buzz a hard time about wearing his seat belt because, well, he doesn't. We've had people call up and recommend buying a seat belt extender and plugging that into the latch because that will keep his truck from beeping at him about his seat belt. But one of the reasons I give him a hard time about it is I know how quickly something can happen on the road, even if you are doing everything right.

On a lighter note, this is something that has been a habit of mine for as long as I can remember. You get into the car, you put on your seatbelt. It's so engrained in me that one time a friend wanted me to hear some new music at work, so we went to listen to it out in his car. We weren't going anywhere. We were just going to listen to the music. But my instinct immediately took over when I got in the car.

Let me wrap up by saying this, please, wear your seat belt. And if you're an adult, make sure everyone in your car is properly secured as well.