Lower Valley Ambulance to host car seat safety check in Verona

Lower Valley Ambulance Service will host a car seat safety check at the Verona borough building.

The free event is slated for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 29 at 736 E. Railroad Ave.

Lower Valley Ambulance is Verona’s official EMS provider. The event is sponsored by the borough. Participants do not need to be residents.

“I have five grandchildren, and each of them are in car seats,” Mayor David Ricupero. “They’re quite difficult to hook up if you don’t know the proper way of hooking the safety seats up. That’s why I feel it’s important (to check).”

Car seat technicians will be on-hand to ensure seats are installed properly and families are following state and manufacturer regulations.

State law requires children younger than 2 years old be in a car seat with the device facing the back seat of the car for added safety.

Children between 2 and 4 can be in a car seat facing forward, and children ages 4 to 8 must be in a booster seat facing forward. Kids 8 and older should wear a seat belt.

According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in one year, more than 618,000 children from birth to 12 years old rode in vehicles without the use of a child safety seat or booster seat or seat belt at least some of the time.

The Centers also reported 723 children age 12 years or younger riding in a car died in crashes in 2016, and more than 128,000 were injured. About 35 percent of the children who died were not buckled up.

Call 724-274-4155 for more information about the event.