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Mom's viral photo of crash aftermath serves as car seat safety reminder

Child safety seats are installed in a van at the opening of the Dorel Technical Center for Child Safety in Columbus, Indiana, on Sept. 2, 2010. AJ Mast/ AP Images for Dorel

LANCASTER, Pa. — A Pennsylvania woman’s photo showing the results of a horrific crash is serving as a reminder to parents around the world of the importance of car seats for children.

Jenna Casado Rabberman posted the photo, which shows her two sons' perfectly intact car seats in front of her mangled vehicle, to Facebook on Tuesday, according to ABC News. The post, which has since been removed or made private, was shared nearly 100,000 times in about 24 hours.

“I'm not one to post anything too heavy or personal on Facebook but guys, THIS is why you buckle your kids into their car seats correctly every SINGLE time,” Rabberman wrote in the now-hidden post, which continued to be shared across social media. “Even when they scream because the straps are tight. Even when they complain about the chest clip or being rear facing. We stopped for milk on the way home from preschool yesterday. We were minutes from home. Someone sped through a red light and slammed into us.”

Rabberman, of Lancaster, told ABC News that she was driving her sons, Beckett, 2, and Brooks, 6 weeks, when the crash happened. The car was totaled, but the boys were left without a scratch.

She said that she is fairly relaxed in her parenting, but that the proper use of car seats is something she takes seriously.

"I feel like it's such an easy thing that I can do to keep them safe," Rabberman told ABC News. "I know that I would never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to my children because I didn't take the time to do something so simple to protect them. I don't think any parent could live with that."

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, reports that 248 children under the age of 5 were saved by properly installed car seats in 2015. The agency offers several tips on how parents can keep their children safe in case of a crash.

The first step is finding the right car seat based on a child’s age. Children should graduate from rear-facing car seats to front-facing car seats before moving on to booster seats and then seat belts.

Secondly, car seats need to be installed properly. An improperly installed seat could result in injury or death in a crash.

The NHTSA offers tips and installation instructions, as well as a search feature through which parents can find a car seat inspection station near them.

Parents should also register their children’s car seats so they will receive safety updates or recall notices if there is a problem with the seats.