Death prompts seat belt pledge

Doris Castiblanco didn't want to go. Not at first. Not on the day that would have been his 20th birthday.

She knew it would be difficult. The hugs. The condolences. The interviews. The stirred memories.

"She was a little upset about doing this," 22-year-old son Christian said, glancing over his shoulder at his mother being consoled by friends. "But when she realized it could help save some other young peoples' lives, she was OK with it. She's strong."

Eight months ago today, Doris Castiblanco's 19-year-old son Johnny, a Coronado High School graduate and College of Southern Nevada sophomore, was killed in a two-car accident at Windmill Parkway and Thayer Avenue, near Green Valley Parkway.

He was driving his Dodge Stratus that Saturday afternoon, less than a half-mile from home, when he hit a PT Cruiser driven by an 86-year-old man making a left-hand turn into an apartment complex. Castiblanco was speeding about 10 mph over the limit, it was determined. He was not wearing his seat belt, also in violation of Nevada law.

Castiblanco died in the crash, as did a teen passenger in his car. Another teen passenger was injured. The man in the PT Cruiser died later at the hospital.

Under a draining sun Tuesday afternoon on the UNLV campus, Doris Castiblanco, and son Christian, joined many of her late son's friends to promote seat belt awareness through the SAFE Foundation - Seat Belt Awareness for Everyone - a grass-roots program established by those who called Johnny Castiblanco their friend.

UNLV students who strolled by, as they entered or exited the student union, were invited to sign an 8-foot-by-8-foot banner: "I Pledge To Always Buckle Up: Every Trip, Every Time." In the first hour, 70 students penned their pledge.

Males between the ages of 16 and 25 are the least likely to be "belted," resulting in the highest percentage of national auto fatalities and serious injuries, according to information provided by UNLV's Safe Community Partnership, which helped stage Tuesday's event and others at several area high schools during National Teen Driver Safety Week.

"If every front seat occupant buckles up," one poster board read, "another 9,500 deaths and 200,000 injuries could be prevented each year."

Christian Castiblanco admitted he didn't always wear his seat belt when he was younger. "Sometimes, I was just too lazy," he said.

Andrew Castiblanco, a 19-year-old junior at UNLV and a Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity brother to his late cousin, said it's "just carelessness" that leads young people not to buckle up.

"You think, 'I'm just going down the street or over to a friend's house. I'll be OK,' " Andrew Castiblanco said. "I'm sure that's what Johnny thought."

Doris Castiblanco said she doesn't know what "my Johnny" was thinking that day - to speed, to not wear his seat belt. She said there is no excuse for either. He was wrong.

But he was a good boy, she stressed.

"He was very adventure. Very lovely. He always give a lot of him to his friends," she said in broken English, before pausing to compose herself. "He smiled."

She decided to attend Tuesday's event, she said, because so many people came together to promote seat belt safety in her son's name. That helped salve some of the pain of a 20th birthday not celebrated.

Always watch the speed limit, she advised. "And always wear your seat belt, no matter what - even if it's just a half-mile from your house. No matter how far it is from your house."

As Doris Castiblanco spoke her cautionary words, singer Alex Clare's plaintive song "Too Close" played over nearby speakers. Some of the lyrics - "Which way is right, which way is wrong?/How do I say that I need to move on?" - seemed hauntingly timely.

How many lives might be saved, thanks to Tuesday's event and Doris Castiblanco's commitment to be there?

"Obviously, we're not trying to change the world," cousin Andrew Castiblanco said. "But if we can get at least one person to put their seat belt on as they get into their car when they usually wouldn't, for all of us, that's enough."

Contact reporter Joe Hawk at jhawk@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2912. Follow him on Twitter: @RJroadwarrior.