KCTV 5Parents reminded to check car seat installation after serious crash

Authorities are reminding parents to check their children's car seats to make sure they are properly installed.

This comes after a 1-month-old baby was critically injured on U.S. 291 near Interstate 70 in Independence. The girl was tossed from her car seat Monday night.

Authorities are working to determine whether the baby's 20-year-old mother had properly installed the car seat and drove too fast while it was raining. Also at issue is whether the car seat malfunctioned or was damaged.

"A little over 90 percent of them aren't installed 100 percent correctly," said Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Colin Stosberg. "It can be something as simple as being too loose."

Stosberg says there is an important step that parents can take to keep their children safe.

"The most interesting thing that people don't do or that they don't know about is to activate what's called the emergency locking retractor," he said. "It's where you just pull the seat beat all the way out. You want to hear it click. That click keeps it from sliding."

Parents should put their children in the center of the back seat. Stosberg called it "good and tight."

"The center seat position is actually the safest due to side impacts," he said.

Missouri law says children under 4 years old must be restrained in a child safety seat.

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