PAULDING COUNTY, Oh. (WOWO): Antwerp resident Nickolas A. Lewis joined Ohio’s “Saved by the Belt” Club on Wednesday after his safety belt saved him from receiving life-threatening injuries during a crash in Paulding County in January. Ohio State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Timothy P. Grigsby, Van Wert Post commander, said that “Nikolas is a living testimony to the effectiveness of safety belts.”

The “Saved by the Belt” Club is a joint effort by the Ohio Department of Public Safety and more than 400 Ohio law enforcement agencies. It recognizes people who have benefitted from wearing safety belts.

Provisional data shows that 565 people in Ohio were killed in crashes last year where safety belts were available, but not used.