Without his seatbelt, local man would be a statistic

    Brent Lowry’s next little ditty has a happy ending.
    The country musician joined the Saved by the Belt club on Friday, after walking away from an April crash
    that mangled his Chevy Silverado into an unrecognizable heap.
    “It was something my parents instilled in me — buckle up before you go. It’s not that hard to do either,”
    Lowry said. “I know that’s what saved my life.”
    Sandy Wiechman, coordinator of Safe Communities of Wood County, said the organization is partnering with
    Lowery for a social media campaign that will debut this week.
    “Without his seatbelt on, I can tell you with 100% confidence that he would not have made it. But since
    he had his seatbelt on, he’s here today,” she said.
    Lowry is a 2003 Eastwood High School/Penta Career Center graduate who is a singer and songwriter.
    “A lot of people will know him from the country scene,” Wiechman said.
    The campaign with Lowry kicked off on Friday with Safe Communities and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
    Lt. Angel Burgos, commander of the Bowling Green post of the patrol, said April 30 was a beautiful, sunny
    day and the crash occurred around noon.
    “Had he not been wearing his seatbelt, he would be a statistic. He would have died,” he said.
    “We’re happy he’s an ambassador for us and the Wood County community as a whole, and if he can get his
    message out to the masses, we’re extremely appreciative of that.”
    A crash can happen at any moment, Burgos said.
    “When we looked at the crash and asked Brent what happened, he literally said he looked over to look at
    the gas prices. When he came back and looked over, a commercial vehicle had stopped in front of him and
    he rear ended it,” Burgos said. “Yes, it’s a horrible situation, but thankfully he was wearing that seat
    belt.”
    Burgos said seat belt compliance has gone up over the years, but there still are individual who choose
    not to wear it.
    “The fact of the matter is they save lives,” he said. “They reduce serious injuries, so we encourage
    everyone to please buckle up.”
    Lowry said he was driving home from work when the crash occurred. He estimated he was going 70 mph at the
    time of impact.
    Lowry called his parents, Bruce and Debbie, right after the crash.
    “He was still in the vehicle,” Debbie said.
    Bruce arrived and texted her a photo of the crash.
    “And he said, ‘our son is lucky to be alive.’ That’s when it really, really hits you. That’s when I broke
    down,” Debbie said.
    Lowry said he knew he was hurt and bleeding.
    “Once they got me out of the vehicle, I realized how bad it was,” he said.
    After the jaws of life were used, Lowry was pulled from the wreckage with a bloody nose and a fat lip.

    Wiechman expects to present two more Saved by the Belt awards in the near future.
    (Sentinel-Tribune multi-media journalist J.D. Pooley did the interviews for this
    story.)

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