A high school student loses sight in one eye in a car accident; Mom claims the app saved her life

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

Kelly Dean’s mother was drinking coffee on September 20, a morning that started like any other, when an alert on her phone changed everything. The 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 they had detected an accident with her car, and he sent me a map and said he called 911,” Kelly Dean said.

Kylee Dean, a freshman in high school, was excited to go home this morning. When she was stopped at an intersection in Fairlawn, Ohio, the sun was so bright that she claims she couldn’t see if the light had changed. The 18-year-old hit the gas pedal and hit the back of the car in front.

“I tried to get out of the car because I wanted to talk to the people I hit, but then I realized I was dizzy and I was covered in blood,” Kylee Dean said.

She was taken to hospital, where she had to undergo surgery on her right eye. Her mother claims that her iris and lens were severely damaged.

– I can’t see out of this eye at all. It’s complete black. It was really hard to get used to it,” Kylee Dean said.

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

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

Meanwhile, Kelly Dean suggests that every family have a tracking app, especially for those whose children are just starting to get behind the wheel. She says her app helped her daughter get the help she needed after her accident.

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

Kylee Dean agrees with her mother.

“You may be annoyed that your parents are following you at all times, but in a situation like this it could save your life,” she said.