A crash near North and Douglas in Kalamazoo sent a Portage firefighter and his son to the hospital late last month.
Now, the Portage Fire Department is sharing part of the story that may have made all the difference: car seats. Properly installed ones, at that.
Portage firefighter Jacob Mahoney was involved in the crash with his son in the car. Kalamazoo Public Safety says an individual driving a stolen vehicle crashed into their vehicle.
Both Mahoney and his son have since been released from the hospital and are home recovering, according to Portage Public Safety.
Fire Marshal Heather Jozwik with Portage Public Safety said proper car seat installation played a critical role in the outcome.
"Fortunately his son was secured properly in the right sized car seat. And it... it saved his life," Jozwik said.
Watch Julie Dunmire's video story below:
Mahoney himself is one of the department's trained car seat technicians.
"We have trained car seat technicians, that went through a course. They're trained to make sure that car seats are installed properly," Jozwik said.
Jozwik said the department's mission goes beyond emergency response.
"It's our job to make sure that these families go home and are prepared to put their kids in the right car seats. And be able to walk away from these car accidents," Jozwik said.
Neighborhood reporter Julie Dunmire asked Jozwik if this incident helped remind the department of the importance of the work they do on the daily.
"Absolutely. Yeah. This one hit home," Jozwik said.
In just 6 days, nearly $50,000 was raised to help Mahoney and his family as they navigate the road ahead.
"It puts it all into perspective, that what we do — we serve the community," Jozwik said.
Families in the Kalamazoo area can contact their local fire department for resources and assistance with car seat installation to help keep children safer on the road.
Safe Kids Kalamazoo County also provides resources.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
