HOUSTON -- We hear it all too often -- a young child dies tragically in a car wreck. That's what happened a year ago on a Texas road -- a 3-year-old boy's body was thrown from the vehicle. Now, imagine that you are the parent who learns all too late there was something you could have done.

That's just what one family discovered and now they are on a crusade to make sure it does not happen to others, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.

Their story, which was told in a tribute video, set off a firestorm that may not only change the way your children travel, it could save their lives.

The video, on YouTube.com, has worked its way around the world.

Almost 2 million web hits later the family that thought they had lost the world has found a new one waiting.

"I put it on. Within 24 hours, it had 100,000 people look at it. I would check a few hours later and 100,000 more people looked at it. It was just … you can't even conceive that there are that many people out there," mother Christine Miller said.

In the four minutes it takes to tell how a booster seat failed their 3-year-old boy, Christine and Kevin Miller have everyone's attention.

"We couldn't have done this one our own. It's thousands of people who have helped us to send it to everyone they know and to get this message out there. It's really neat. I had no idea it would take off the way it has," Miller said.

Three months later, the video tribute has more meaning than the young couple could have imagined.

"(We) just send it out to friends and family, not really thinking it would be a public service announcement," Miller said.

During the accident, Kyle's big sister Katie was sitting just inches away.

"After the accident, putting Katie back in the car was the most terrifying thing you know," Miller said.

It was that fear that led her to search for some answers.

"I really had to look hard to find it. It is not just something you go to a store and get and I think that is the problem we had and most people have when their child grows out of their car seat, they go to the store to see what else there is and there is booster seats," she said.

Miller said experts kept saying the five-point harness seats offered the most protection. But the two she could actually find were only sold online.

"These seats weren't popular sellers before. Now they can't keep them in stock," she said.

And that is, in part, thanks to Kyle's video.

It is getting the message to families that the Millers said is the driving force behind creating the Kyle David Miller Foundation.

"You want … you know we can't do anything physically for Kyle now but through the foundation we can reach out to families that are in need of car seats," Kevin Miller said.

The nonprofit foundation raises not only awareness, but also money to help families buy the $300 to $500 car seats.

"We are hearing back from people who got seats and seeing pictures of kids in the seats and that is just the best feeling -- you knowing that that you can see exactly what you are doing," Miller said.

The mission may be to help others but what the Millers have found is something they didn't expect.

"You know the biggest fear when you lose a child is they get forgotten about -- that the world just keeps going without them and it is like they never were. So, for me for the world to know who he is and to be making an impact and people knowing his name and face -- that just brings me so much joy because it is like he is not really gone," Miller said.

"As a parent you are always struggling with a way to keep them, you know, alive … keep their memory alive and I think this foundation has really helped us tremendously," Kevin Miller said.

"We get to say his name like all the time," Christine Miller said. "I know Kyle would have done amazing things. He was just an amazing kid and I know if he would have had a chance to grow up, he would have made a tremendous difference, so for me to be able to do things to make the world a better place because of him is the best thing I can do."

The five-point harness car seats for children up to 80 pounds will now be carried in Babies "R" Us stores starting in June.

A common mistake is that many car seats indicate that they are a five-point harness and can protect a child up to 80 pounds. But, if you look closely, the five-point harness system only applies up to 40 pounds and then the car seat becomes a booster seat minus the five-point harness.

The two products mentioned below are the only car seats using the five-point harness on children weighing more than 40 pounds that the station could find.

Five-Point Car Seat Information:

Britax makes the Regent, which is currently backordered until September, October, but starting in June, Britax is replacing its booster seat with the five-point harness seats in all Babies "R" Us Stores. For more information, call 888-427-4829.
Sunshine Kids makes the Radian 80. This car seat can be used from birth to 80 pounds with the five-point harness. They are only slightly backordered. You can find where to purchase it on the "where to buy" page.

Car Seat Inspections From Safe Kids Greater Houston and Texas Children's Hospital

Wednesday, 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Calvary Chapel Church
3700 FM 528
Friendswood, TX 77546
Wednesday, 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Wal-Mart
10411 North Freeway (Interstate 45 at West Road)
Houston, TX 77037
Saturday, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.,
There will be a Safe Kids car seat expert at all of the local Babies "R" Us stores.
Thursday, Feb. 15, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Babies "R" Us
380 FM 1960 West,
Thursday, Feb. 22, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Babies "R" Us
20280 Katy Freeway

More Information:

Kyle's Video On YouTube
Kyle David Miller Foundation