Children's automobile restraints

Anton's Law up for signature

YAKIMA (Monday 3-27-00)-Gov. Gary Locke is expected to sign into law tomorrow child restraint legislation tougher than any in the nation.

A signing ceremony is set to take place at Providence Medical Center, 110 South 9th Ave. Yakima Tuesday, March 28, at 9:30 a.m.

"Anton's Law" is named after 4-year-old Anton Skeen who died in 1996 when he slipped through a buckled seat belt during a rollover accident near Ellensburg.

Washington is the first state in the nation to implement the new child safety restraint regulations as recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Besides the governor, participants at the bill signing ceremony include Rep. Mary Skinner, R-Yakima, and Rep. Shay Schual-Berke, D-Normandy Park, who are the primary sponsors of House Bill 2675, Sen. Jeri Costa, D-Marysville, Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, and Autumn Alexander Skeen, mother of Anton Skeen.