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Sheriff, Son Lobby Students To Use Seat Belts

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2009

Back when he was a 16-year-old Durant High junior, Weston Gee nearly died when he was a passenger in a car that crashed into a pole. He broke his right femur and right pinky, had a head injury and went into a coma. He was in a wheelchair for seven months.

The reason he survived, he said, is that he wore a seat belt. One of his friends in the crash wasn't so fortunate.

Gee, now a 22-year-old Florida Highway Patrol trooper, is the son of Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee. Today, at the annual Battle of the Belts high school safe driving awards ceremony, he and his father told the story of the crash and the need to wear seat belts.

"Hopefully, it gets rid of that feeling of invincibility" high school students feel, Weston Gee said.

Gee and his father were keynote speakers today in the ceremony at Freedom High School. The family of Katie Marchetti, a high school student who died in a crash, also attended the event.

"We're trying to keep somebody else from living a tragedy that we almost lived and that Katie's family has had to live," David Gee said.

Teens aged 15 to 19 have the highest crash rate among drivers , and vehicle crashes are the top cause of death for American teenagers. The Battle of the Belts is a countywide awareness campaign that tries to increase seat belt use among young people.

Last year, 14 youths ages 15 to 19 died in Hillsborough vehicle crashes. Ten weren't wearing seat belts, according to a sheriff's office news release.

The sheriff's office investigated five fatalities of teen drivers or passengers in 2008, and only one was wearing a seatbelt, sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said.

Katie mother, Laura Marchetti, told students about her daughter's fatal crash about three years ago. Katie, a 16-year-old Durant student, was a passenger in her boyfriend's car and was ejected in the crash.

"She had her whole life in front of her," Laura Marchetti said. "Then we were told that there was nothing more they could do for her."

High schools countywide competed in the Battle of the Belts.

The following high schools won awards:

Freedom: highest percentage of safety belt use.

Gaither: most improved.

Lennard: best campaign.

Newsome: best public service announcement.

Winning schools receive a cash award through community leaders, including State Farm Insurance and St. Joseph's Children's Hospital.

Hillsborough County deputies have conducted safety blitzes targeting high school and teen drivers not wearing seat belts. Those involved in the program say the program is having a positive result; they see fewer drivers each year not wearing seat belts.

The results:

2006-07 …. 1,072 people

2007-08 …. 657 people

2008-09 … 348 people

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691

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