Originally published in 2012

It was supposed to be a happy day, on the way to her son’s wedding. But Kathy Bavaro’s drive from Oregon to Minnesota was interrupted by a scary crash. Her daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren were riding in an SUV ahead of Kathy’s when their vehicle’s tire blew out and the SUV rolled over.

“The SUV’s rear tire exploded at 70 miles per hour and launched into the air,” says Kathy. “The vehicle rotated in the air like a football, then rolled across three lanes of traffic and off of the freeway, landing down an embankment and near the railroad tracks. All I thought was ‘Dear God, there goes my family.’”

Kathy and her husband had never needed to use OnStar* in their vehicles before that day. But the second the SUV disappeared from the highway, Kathy says, “I immediately reached up and pushed the OnStar button.* I was so afraid that they would be beyond help, but I knew that OnStar could request assistance for them as soon as possible.”

Though her family spent several days at the hospital trauma center after the crash, Kathy was grateful for the ability of OnStar to send for help.

“I am just so grateful that I was behind them when the tire blew apart,” she says. “They were crushed in their vehicle. There was no way they could have gotten out. And no one could see the vehicle from the freeway. Who knows when help would have gotten to them? I credit OnStar with helping save my family’s lives. I will never be without this service.”