You might notice these Click It for Cassie bumper stickers on many cars. One local family started this Click It for Cassie foundation to remind everyone to wear a seatbelt after they experienced a tragic loss back in 2008.
“17 years old. She had just gotten her driver’s license and she was traveling from her boyfriend’s house to my parents’ house which was maybe a mile down the street,” said Greenwich Police Officer Shane Geary.
Greenwich Police Officer Shane Geary is Cassie’s brother, and he says his sister wasn’t wearing her seatbelt when she hit a patch of slippery road.
“And as a direct result, she got partially ejected out of the driver’s side window. As the car was coming down, it landed on her chest and she died of blunt force trauma on the scene,” said Geary.
Officer Geary and his family started Click It for Cassie soon after.
“Essentially to prevent the tragedy fro occurring to any other family,” said Geary.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. But Officer Geary says Click It for Cassie has already saved lives.
“A group of Cassidy’s classmates, after she had passed away, their vehicle rolled down an embankment. There mother came back to my father sobbing and said, ‘My son never used to wear his seatbelt. it was always a fight in our family’. All of the kids in that car walked away form hat accident because they were all wearing their seatbelt. There was a Click it for Cassie bumper sticker on that car. The kid said to his mother ‘I put this seatbelt on out of respect for Cassidy,” said Geary.
The Greenwich Police Department is looking to save even more lives. The national Click It or Ticket campaign kicks off November 23 and police will be making sure you are buckled up.
“We’re not going after you and ticketing you for financial gain. It’s because we want to save your life. We want to stress how important it is to wear your seatbelt. It literally takes one second out of your day to put it on. As you can see from this story, my sister would still be alive today had she worn her seatbelt,” said Geary.
You can visit www.ClickItForCassie.com to request a bumper sticker or get more information on seatbelt safety.
