High school student loses sight in one eye in car accident; Mom credits app with saving her life

FAIRLAWN, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) – A high school senior lost sight in one eye after a car accident, but her mother is grateful for a family tracking app that she says helped save her daughter’s life.

Mom Kelly Dean was drinking coffee on Sept. 20, a morning that started like any other, when an alarm on her phone changed everything. A tracking app told her that her 18-year-old daughter, Kylee Dean, had been in a car accident, WOIO reports.

“The alarm went off that her car had been in an accident, which sent me a card telling me 911 had been called,” Kelly Dean said.

Kylee Dean, a freshman high school senior, was excited about her senior class returning home that morning. When she was stopped at an intersection in Fairlawn, Ohio, the sun was so bright that she said she couldn’t tell if the traffic light had changed. The 18-year-old accelerated and crashed into the rear of the car in front of her.

“I tried to get out of the car because I wanted to talk to the people I hit, but then I realized I was getting dizzy and I could see the blood all over me,” Kylee Dean said.

She was taken to hospital where she required surgery on her right eye. Her mother says her iris and lens were severely damaged.

“I can’t see anything with this eye. It is complete blackness. It was really hard to get used to it,” Kylee Dean said.

The 18-year-old hopes that once her eyes heal she can get a new iris and lens, but until then she’s just grateful it wasn’t worse.

“I just want to look on the positive, do what I can and be happy that I can do what I can,” she said.

Meanwhile, Kelly Dean says she suggests every family has a tracking app, especially for those whose children are new to driving. She says her app made all the difference in getting her daughter the help she needed after the crash.

“I don’t even know if I would have figured it out right away. I don’t know how I would have found out,” Kelly Dean said.

Kylee Dean agrees with her mother.

“Maybe it’s annoying that your parents are chasing you every moment, but in this situation it can save your life,” she said.

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