I am writing this letter on behalf of all of our family. Friday night March 17, 2006, something happened to us that all parents fear and hope it never happens to them. Here is how the story goes:

We were lying in bed waiting for Ryan (our Son) to come home. He had been over to his cousin’s house a few miles away. About midnight our door bell rang frantically. Our daughter answered the door and the person at the door said that there has been an emergency. Our son Ryan was involved in a bad car wreck and we needed to come as soon as possible. We flew out of our bedroom and hurried to the scene -- it was only about a block away from our home. When we got out on the highway all we could see was emergency vehicles all around the crash.

As we reached the scene we hurried up to the vehicle to see if Ryan was alright. We couldn’t get too close because the emergency people were all working hard to get Ryan out of the vehicle. While they were working on getting Ryan out of the car, I looked over the crash. He had gone off the road and hit head on into a power pole. Both airbags deployed and there was quite a bit of blood on the deflated bag. After working on the vehicle with the "Jaws of Life" for what seemed like an eternity they were able to get the doors of the car open.

As they got Ryan out of the car on a backboard and were rushing him to the ambulance we were able to talk to him for just a few seconds. He seemed to be alright. There was quite a bit of blood on his face because he was bleeding from his nose. As they put him in the ambulance we hurried to our car and followed the ambulance in to the Logan Regional Hospital. When they got him into the emergency room they checked him from head to toe. They took several x-rays and did a cat scan. They found nothing wrong except for a mild concussion from hitting his head. It must have hit and broke the driver’s door window then hit the door frame when the car spun after the impact.

As the doctor released him after a few hours of observation he said that this would have been a different outcome if he hadn't had airbags in his car. They probably saved his life. His car is an Oldsmobile Alero. I checked to see if Autoliv made the airbags and found that we do. I have worked for Autoliv for 23 years and have always thought that we were protecting and saving the other guys. I had never been personally involved with anyone that has been saved -- until now.

I am grateful to my fellow associates that took the pride and time to manufacture a quality product that saved my son’s life. Not only did the seatbelts and airbags save his life, but they allowed him to attend the Mountain Crest High School Junior Prom, Saturday night.

On behalf of my wife, Eileen and my five daughters THANK YOU for all the quality work you do. Because of your hard work we will be able to watch Ryan live a happy normal life.

Sincerely,

Paul James
Project Manager, Promontory Facility Technical Support