LAMPASAS, Texas — With summer in full swing, more children are out and about. For Baylor Scott & White, it's always a busy time of the year in the trauma center.
Krista Easley, Trauma Injury Prevention and Outreach Coordinator at Baylor Scott & White, says they are seeing many ATV accidents, especially with July 4 coming up.
For one young Texas girl named Emmie Vacek, her family says this nightmare became a reality.
"It was the scariest day of our life," Kim Vacek, Emmie's mother, said.
Two years ago, the family's world was turned upside down.
Emmie Vacek was riding on a MULE, a large ATV, to go feed cows on her family ranch in Lampasas. Along the way, bugs started swarming while Emmie's friend was driving.
"Instead of hitting the brakes, she hit the accelerator and the whole thing flipped so it landed on her," Kim Vacek said.
Within minutes, friends were able to call for help.
"Her whole leg from her knee to her ankle was split open," Kim Vacek added. "We waited for 45 minutes for the EMS to get there because when you're on a ranch, it's hard to locate exactly where you are, and so eventually they sent a helicopter and took her to McLane's (Children's Hospital) which was a godsend."
Emmie Vacek went through several surgeries and is now back to normal activities.
"It's just honestly a blessing to think that even like something happened like that, that I could come back and even be stronger than I was," Emmie said.
This year, Vacek won MVP for her volleyball team, received a 4.0 GPA and wants to go into the medical profession to help others. Now, her story of survival can help other families.
"A lot of people just don't realize how dangerous they can truly be," Easley said.
Easley says there are four different types of ATV's depending on a child's age, so make sure your kid is using the appropriate one. She also noted that most ATV's aren't designed to hold two people.
"When you put a second person on, it really throws off their balance," Easley said.
Make sure you are wearing a helmet, goggles, a long-sleeve shirt and boots.
"So that if you do get thrown off the vehicle, you have some protection and some padding in between you and the road," Easley added.
Taking these steps can be the difference between life and death.
Baylor Scott & White said there is an ATV Safety Institute Readiness checklist, which can be found here. It addresses everything from visual and physical requirements to decision-making and social and emotional readiness.
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