Kathy Bavaro was in her Chevy Equinox on her way to her son’s wedding. She was following her daughter’s family in their Ford Explorer as they caravanned from Oregon to Minnesota. Kathy’s daughter was driving the Explorer. Her son-in-law was in the passenger seat and Kathy’s three grandchildren — ages 13, 11 and 18 months — were in the back. Kathy’s husband couldn’t make the road trip due to work but was flying in for the wedding. All in all, Kathy was thinking, it was a happy time for the Bavaro family.

Kathy's daughter and son-in-law

“The Explorer’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.’”

When the unthinkable happens

Kathy works in communications for her county’s 911 call center. She’s no stranger to emergencies — other people’s emergencies, that is. “I always thought I’d be cool in a crisis,” she says. “But any knowledge I ever gleaned from years of training and classes went right out the window. This was my family.”

She and her husband have had OnStar on their vehicles for at least 10 years. And, in all that time, neither has ever pushed the OnStar button or used any of the OnStar services. But the second the Explorer disappeared from the highway, Kathy says, “I immediately reached up and pushed the OnStar button to get help for my family. I was so afraid that they would be beyond help, but I knew that OnStar could get assistance to them as soon as possible.”

The OnStar Advisor came on the line right away. “I must have sounded like a crazy person. I was screaming at them to send help. Of course they knew my location and the first responders arrived in a heartbeat — an army of help. As I knew they would. Our call center gets a DVD from OnStar to augment our own 911 operators’ training so they will know how to work with OnStar. It’s a great help and I’ve seen it a million times. That’s why we’ve always had OnStar. I know what it can do when you need it and I know how life can change in a second. That’s why having OnStar has always been so important to my husband and me. We were always willing to pay for it just to know it was there — and this one event has more than made it worthwhile.”

A long road to recovery

Kathy’s family spent three days in the trauma center. Her daughter had a broken collarbone, rotator cuff and internal injuries. Her 13-year-old grandson had a knee injury, her 11-year-old granddaughter broke an arm and her 18-month-old grandson was absolutely fine. “He was in his car seat and well protected,” she says. Her son-in-law had a broken neck and couldn’t return to work for eight months.

Kathy's grandson

Kathy and her husband kept vigil at the hospital, and left just long enough to attend their son’s wedding.

The months since the crash have been a time of healing and reflection. “I am just so grateful that I was behind them when the tire blew apart,” Kathy 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.”

Kathy is thankful that she was there when the crash occurred and could use her OnStar to help. Tell us about a time when you witnessed an accident on the road and if you were able to help in the comments below.

Watch the video to see how OnStar has helped so many through the years.

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Dave Hayati was driving his 2011 GMC Sierra on I-75 in Michigan when he saw a car behind him lose control, flip on its side and land in a ditch.

“I heard this noise behind me and watched in my rearview mirror as the car bounced off the cement median and came back across all three lanes of the freeway.” Dave says. “It was a busy Sunday night and my wife, Darlene, and I were amazed that it didn’t hit any other cars.”

“I knew OnStar could help.”

Stunned by what he saw, Dave immediately pulled over on the shoulder of the freeway. “Darlene started looking for her phone to call 911, but then I remembered OnStar and asked her to push the button instead,” he says. “I knew that OnStar would know what to do.”

Dave knew that OnStar would be able to find their exact location — important because they couldn’t be sure of where they were at that point — and would know whom to alert and send to the crash.

“We put it in OnStar’s hands and they took care of it,” adds Dave.

While Darlene stayed on the line with the Advisor until first responders arrived, Dave walked back to the car to see if he could help. “I tried to get the door open to get the driver out but it was jammed. There was debris all over the highway. It was a pretty messy scene and cars were screaming past us on the highway. Another guy stopped— he turned out to be a firefighter — and together we managed to get the door open. That’s when the police and ambulance arrived.

“In hindsight it was pretty scary — I didn’t know if the car would explode or what. But when you find yourself in a situation like that you just want to do something to help.”

That night, when he got home, Dave wrote a letter to OnStar. “I was pretty impressed with how they handled it,” he says. “Up until then, I’d only used OnStar to get directions and I made a couple Hands-Free calls. But this showed me what they really can do. My Sierra came with six months of OnStar service, but I think I might be keeping it for awhile.”

“OnStar worked where cell phones wouldn’t. I was riding my motorcycle and headed into Death Valley National Park when I took a curve too fast and went off the road. I was injured and bleeding and needed help yet no one’s cell phone would work. A memory that stays with me the most was a gentleman yelling “push the damn button.” I heard him explain to my husband the “damn button” was OnStar. His wife had stayed in their SUV and pressing the OnStar button to get me the help I needed. I couldn’t hear her response but I remember him saying to my husband help is on the way. I could feel the relief in all those around me. A short time later the National Park ambulance arrived and packed me up for delivery to the Furnace Creek airport and an express ride via helicopter to a hospital in Las Vegas. Today I own a vehicle that has OnStar. The day I bought my truck I told the salesman my story. He asked permission to use it when talking with other customers. I was very happy to give my permission since to me OnStar isn’t one of those cute-sie gadgets. It actually saves lives and precious time in emergencies.”

Have you used OnStar to help someone else in an emergency? Tell us about it in the comments below.