Parents: Remind children to buckle up

Another crash. Another young Columbia County resident dead.

//

These things don't have to happen. Tragically, they do.

The latest victim was Robbie Williams of Evans, a 1999 Lakeside High School graduate, killed Friday in a single-vehicle crash on I-20. Williams wasn't wearing a seat belt, and was thrown to his death when his vehicle overturned.

A month ago, two 2005 Lakeside graduates, Jessica Fulmer and Melissa Eustice, died when the SUV in which they were riding flipped on I-16. Neither were wearing seat belts. Feb. 2, Greenbrier graduate Callie Meadows died in a head-on collision in Appling; again, no seat belt.

Parents, you must remind your children to buckle up every time they get in a vehicle.

Help is available. From 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at Wesley United Methodist Church, in Evans, MCG Health will present the Parents Reducing Incidents of Driver Error (PRIDE) program, geared to teens ages 14-16. It's free. To register, call (706) 721-7606.

Don't wait for your child to become one of these sad statistics.