Phil & Ted's stroller saves a child’s life

Leah Findtner was out strolling with her 20 month old toddler, Henry, in his Phil & Ted's in Portland, Oregon, USA, when disaster struck.

"We head out for a stroll in the fresh air every day. It’s amazing how safe we all believe we are walking beside traffic, rarely considering the extent of danger from traffic racing by. So on that morning, when a truck careened out of control, ploughing into the stroller – with Henry inside – I could do little but watch in horror," said an emotional Leah.

In fact the stroller that Henry was sitting in had saved his life.

"The majority of the force was absorbed by our stroller. The stroller held its own against the truck. It was quite extraordinary!” recounted Leah, “Henry walked away from the accidentvirtually unharmed."

"I would much rather have an injured stroller than an injured child...I believe that it definitely saved Henry from further injury and probably saved his life!”
This is the latest in a line of phil&teds buggies to save lives. Janene Pearce watched horror struck as a car wheel flew towards her phil&teds buggy containing her two young children earlier this year.

"The wheel hit exactly between their heads right flush on the buggy frame…. the buggy had taken the full impact causing no damage to the girls,” said a relieved Janene. Olive and Lily – like Henry - although shocked suffered no serious injury and are now fully recovered.

Phil & Ted's design team will be assessing the stroller that Leah used to determine the strength of the frame and how it dealt with the impact of being struck by a truck.

"Although all our strollers are tested to rigorous safety standards you never know how well they will hold up in circumstances such as these,” said Wilson Murdoch, a Phil & Ted's designer, "We are keen to assess the buggy particularly the frame so that we can use the knowledge gained in our future designs."

Happily located in Wellington, New Zealand, Phil & Ted's designs, markets and exports
innovative and world-leading nursery hardware products, including baby buggies, travel cots, car seats and highchairs; products that help customers adapt & survive the conflicting demands of parenthood.