Mom saves 8-year-old son nearly suffocated in freak seat belt accident

BEDFORD, Mass. (WBZ) - A Massachusetts mother had no time to waste when her 8-year-old son managed to wrap a seat belt around his neck. First responders say what she did next saved his life.

It was pure mother’s instinct. Siobhan Sherbovich and her kids were in the car Sunday afternoon in Bedford, Massachusetts, when 8-year-old Brayden became tangled in his seat belt. He was choking and turning blue.

“Before I could even process anything, he was basically hanging from the ceiling,” Sherbovich said.

Though she tried, the mother could not release the belt because the locking mechanism had engaged. But she didn’t panic. Instead, she ran into a nearby hair salon and asked for scissors.

“At the time, I didn’t know if it was open or not. I was ready to break down windows,” Sherbovich said.

Hair stylist Daisey LaCourse called 911, while Sherbovich used her scissors to cut the seat belt.

“I cut him loose from the top of the ceiling, and he falls out of the car, just completely unconscious, onto the ground,” Sherbovich said.

The mother then administered CPR and got Brayden breathing and conscious again.

“He just went, ‘What happened? I’m OK’ and just stared at me, looking like he was from another planet,” Sherbovich said.

The 8-year-old was taken to be evaluated at the hospital. Police do not believe he will have any lasting health complications as a result of the incident.

To first responders, Sherbovich is a heroic figure.

“Let’s face it. Police and fire are trained on how to handle this type of situation. There’s no playbook on a parent how to do it. For her to keep cool, to go into a facility, a salon, get a pair of scissors, come out, cut the seat belt off her son, begin CPR and essentially save his life is just absolutely amazing,” said Police Chief Bob Bongiorno.

Bongiorno said he had never encountered anything like this in his 25 years of public safety.

Authorities say all kids need a booster seat until their knees bend at the end of the seat when their back and bottoms are against the seat back. In most cases, that happens when they are between 8 and 12 years old.

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