Police check child car seats in Milan

MILAN, Tenn. — Police officers performed safety checks on car seats Thursday in Milan. Police said if they are not installed properly it could be deadly.

Kiyuna Cottrell, a parent, brought a van full of car seats and booster seats for officers to inspect. “I wasn’t sure about the recalls and everything on the car seats,” she said.

Officers made sure the car seats were installed correctly, age appropriate and the child was correctly secured in the seat.

Sgt. Alan Alexander with the Milan Police Department is certified in child restraint. Alexander said most of the ones he checks are not properly installed. “You either want to use the tethers or you want to use the seat belt to properly lock it in the rear seat,” he said.

Police said one of the most common mistakes people make involves the seat belt retractor. You are supposed to pull the seat belt all the way out, lock it and then buckle the child.

The Gibson County Health Department said of the 115 car seats they checked in the last two and half years, two were installed properly. “If they have a wreck, it could potentially cost the life of the child,” Vanessa Kail, a nurse at the Milan Health Department, said.

Police said Cottrell had her kids’ car seats installed properly. “I’m proud of myself that I did it right,” she said.

Cottrell said this was a good opportunity to double check and be safe.

If you could not make it out Thursday, officers said go to your local police department to have an officer certified in child safety restraint check your car seat.

The health department said they will have another checkpoint Sept. 10 at Milan City Park.