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Three-year-old Kyle Miller died when his family's minivan was broadsided by a careless driver.

A home video born of heartbreak and posted on YouTube tells of the Miller family's anguishing Memorial Day weekend, 2005.

"They were in identical booster seats," said Christine Miller of her two children. 4-year old Katie and 3-year old Kyle were happily eating snacks and watching a movie when their minivan was broadsided by a careless driver in College Station.

Christine recalls, "We just started rolling and we rolled probably about 4 or 5 times into a ditch on the side of the road. And we stopped and turned around to check on the kids and he wasn't there... and we, um...."

"They found the booster seat about 50 yards to the left of the car," Kevin Miller said. "And he was about 50 yards to the right of the car."

The car's lap and shoulder belt that secured Kyle's booster seat had failed.

With it, a young life ended.

And a crusade began.

WFAA-TV

5-point harness booster on left - Standard booster used with lap-belt on right

Before snapping Katie into a booster again, Christine watched crash test after crash test of children in booster seats.

She came to a conclusion. A standard booster secured with a lap-belt isn't enough. She did find what she believes is a safer option.

"Whereas with the 5-point harness seat, even if the seatbelt fails, at least they're still buckled into something that's going to make it harder for them to get ejected. And then once they do, they're going to have some protection when they hit the ground."

A 5-point harness booster looks just like an infant seat but is built for bigger kids. It's much harder for a child to slip out.

The Miller's video, posted on YouTube late last year, has already received nearly two million hits. It alerts parents to the potential safety drawbacks of ordinary booster seats, and it has ignited a firestorm of questions for car-seat installers across the country.

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Kyle Miller and big sister Katie were always strapped into their booster seats.

"I think booster seats ... secured in the right way in your vehicle absolutely save lives," said Claudia Romo, an injury prevention expert at Children's Medical Center in Dallas. She has fielded dozens of those calls from concerned parents in North Texas.

Romo said ordinary booster seats alone reduce injuries by 59% and cost only about $30. The five point seats carry a hefty $300 price tag, making them more difficult to afford.

"You shouldn't have to be rich to protect your children," believes Christine Miller. She and her husband have started a foundation to get the better booster seats to families who can't buy them. They're hoping to convince car seat engineers to build a booster that can also be tethered to the car's own seat making ejection nearly impossible.

They hope their efforts will protect their daughter, their new son Coby and other children. And they credit their angel, Kyle, with making this difference in the world.

E-mail jstjames@wfaa.com