Child safety top priority for law enforcement
Published 6:07 pm Wednesday, November 16, 2016
By James Simpson II
james.simpson@lagrangenews.com
Child safety top priority for law enforcement
LaGRANGE — Christmas will come early for some parents and their children this Saturday at the Home Depot at 1500 Lafayette Parkway.
The Georgia State Patrol and Troup County Sheriff’s Department have partnered with the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the Atlanta Fire Department and the local Home Depot for a car seat safety check and car seat giveaway from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Troopers, deputies, firefighters and state officials will inspect car seats to see whether they are expired or need to be replaced.
If the seats are deemed old and worn out, the agencies will provide parents with a new one, said Georgia State Patrol Sgt. 1st Class Maurice Raines, commander of Post 2 LaGrange.
Parents who do not have a child in attendance at the event will not be issued a car seat.
Georgia law requires that children under the age of 8 need to be in a car seat or booster seat. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), four out of every 10 children under the age of 6 who die or are seriously injured in auto accidents were unrestrained or improperly restrained.
Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff stated Thanksgiving is one of the deadliest travel holidays of the year.
This will be the second year GSP and TCSO host the event.
Staff Writer Melanie Ruberti contributed to this report.