Crash is reminder to use seat belts, authorities say

The death this week of a Newport Harbor High School freshman, killed Monday when he was ejected from an SUV, has underscored a basic safety rule: Seat belts save lives.

“Wearing a seat belt ? is the single easiest thing somebody can do to improve the chances of surviving a” crash, said Mike Marando, spokesman for the state office of traffic safety.

Fifteen-year-old Dylan Ayres ? the son of Douglas and Michele Ayres and the grandson of Ayres hotel chain chairman Don Ayres Jr. ? was not wearing a seat belt when he was ejected from an SUV driven by his brother, 17-year-old Dorian Ayres, police said.

The single-vehicle accident occurred at 7:50 a.m. on State Route 14 near Ridgecrest. The brothers and another teenager were returning from Mammoth Mountain, officials said.

The number of teenagers wearing safety belts has risen since the state initiated the Click It or Ticket campaign for seat belt enforcement, but officials said the number is still lower than the national average.

“Teens generally are over-represented in a number of collision factors,” Marando said.

People wearing a seat belt are 25 times more likely to survive a rollover accident, statistics show.

California is one of the few states that conducts specific safety belt studies for drivers ages 15 to 19, Marado said.

Dylan Ayres was sleeping in the back seat, Newport Harbor High School Principal Michael Vossen said, when the Ford Expedition drifted off the road. The driver overcorrected and swerved several times, causing the SUV to roll over, officials said.

The driver and the other passenger were wearing seat belts, but Dylan Ayres was not. He died at the scene, officials said.

It doesn’t matter where a person is seated or what age they are, everyone traveling in a motor vehicle should be buckled up at all times, Marando said.

The risk of being ejected is 15 times greater for those not wearing a seat belt, Marando added.

The accident is still under investigation. The 17-year-old driver did not have provisional restrictions on his license, said California Highway Patrol public affairs officer Steve Hunsaker.

A new law effective January 2006 requires teen drivers under 18 to be accompanied by a parent if they are carrying passengers under 20. If Dorian Ayres got his license 12 months ago, he would not be under provisional restrictions, Marando said.

“It’s a very tragic incident,” said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Bill Hartford. “Any type of death ? with a young person is tragic.”

The Newport Beach police conduct specific seat belt enforcement at least once a year, Hartford said. The extra enforcement is paid for by a grant from the state office of traffic safety.

The three-week enforcement period is preceded by a seat belt survey, conducted at different intersections throughout the city. Officers track 100 vehicles and mark how many of the drivers are wearing seat belts. During a 2005 survey, police found that 89% of the drivers were wearing seat belts. After the three-week targeted enforcement, the compliance rate jumped to 96%, Hartford said.

Memorial services for Dylan Ayres are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 600 St. Andrews Road, Newport Beach.

The Ayres family is not making a public statement about the accident. The family is requesting that donations be made to the Dylan Ayres Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Leadership Institute, P.O. Box 2471, Orange, CA 92859.