RALEIGH – As a co-host of one of the nation’s best-ranked local sports radio shows, Joe Giglio has no shortage of stories to share with his Triangle audience.
But the one he talks about most frequently these days has nothing to do with sports. Instead, it’s the story of how seatbelts saved the life of his two teen sons, Jackson and James, when they were in a severe car crash last month.
Now, the Giglio family is sharing its story through two PSAs (1/2) produced with the North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program.
James, 16, and Jackson, 13, were backseat passengers in a friend’s vehicle when it crashed after leaving a birthday party Oct. 18 near Raleigh. Both boys underwent emergency surgery following the crash, but credit the fact that they both buckled their seatbelts with preventing an even worse outcome.
“I’m here today because I wore my seatbelt in the backseat,” Jackson says in his video.
Joe Giglio, who co-hosts The OG with Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio on 99.9 FM The Fan, is grateful for many things this Thanksgiving, but the fact that he taught his boys the importance of buckling up - no matter which seat they’re in - is at the top of the list.
“As a parent, you always want your kids to listen to you, but they always don’t,” Giglio said. “This one time, I really was glad they were (listening).”
The N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program encourages the driver and every passenger to properly fasten their seatbelts every time they’re in a vehicle. Not doing so greatly increases the risk of a severe injury or fatality in a crash. In fact, nearly half of all drivers and passengers involved in fatal crashes were not wearing a seat belt.
This Thanksgiving, the Giglio family is grateful to celebrate together and hopes their message will help other families do the same.
For more safety tips, follow @NCGHSP on Facebook and @NC_GHSP on Twitter and Instagram. For more information, visit www.ncghsp.org.