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Spotsylvania mother honored for proper seat belt use in dangerous crash Date published: 6/1/2010
By KELLY HANNON The trip that upended a Spotsylvania family's life for six months started out as a simple errand. Erica Davison, 32, was driving to pick up a television for her Lake Anna home on the night of Dec. 4, 2009. It was early evening, shortly after 6. Davison was behind the wheel of her Ford Explorer Sport Trac, with her children--Tyler Davison, 10, and Macie Davison, 6--buckled up in the truck's back seat. Friend Jason Morgan, 34, was riding in the front passenger seat. The drive on Stubbs Bridge Road was uneventful. Then, suddenly, another truck appeared in their lane, headed straight at them. There was no time to react, Morgan said. There "wasn't even time to say 'Hey!' It happened that fast," Morgan said. Their vehicle was struck head-on by an intoxicated driver in a GMC Sierra pickup truck, according to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office. John Edward Hilldrup, 58, of Spotsylvania, has been charged with DUI and maiming while DUI. Despite the severity of the crash, everyone survived. The Sheriff's Office credits the survival of everyone in Davison's vehicle to the fact that they were wearing their seat belts. The air bags in the truck also deployed. Davison last week accepted an award from the Virginia Highway Safety Office for wearing her seat belt and for appropriately securing her children. Called the Saved by the Bag & Belt Award, it honors Virginians who survived crashes because they used a belt or child safety seat. So far, 76 awards have been distributed in 2010. Davison accepted the award at a Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors meeting. "There is no doubt that had they not been properly belted, the Davison family would have suffered much more significant traumatic injuries and possibly even died as a result of this crash," read a summary of events given to supervisors. "I hope you're an example for the rest of the people in this county," said Gary Jackson, Board of Supervisors chairman. An estimated 249 lives were saved in Virginia crashes in 2008 by seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Nationwide, the number of individuals saved in 2008 was estimated at 13,250. The family is still grappling with the aftermath of the crash. Davison, 32, a school bus driver for Spotsylvania public schools, suffered severe leg injuries and uses crutches to walk. She has not been able to return to work as a bus driver for Thornburg Middle School and Riverview Elementary. Morgan suffered a shattered hip, and hopes to return to work this summer. Davison and Morgan praised the quick response of the Sheriff's Office and fire and rescue officials at the scene, and their ability keep the children calm as she and Morgan were treated. Both urged other drivers not to drink and drive, and to always buckle up. "They definitely save lives," Morgan said. "We're living proof of that." Kelly Hannon: 540/374-5436
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