OSHKOSH, Wis. (WFRV) – Janette Fennell never imagined that one of the darkest moments of her life would lead to sweeping federal safety reforms, or bring her back to Oshkosh West High School to be recognized for it.
Nearly 30 years after surviving a terrifying kidnapping, the 1972 graduate stood on stage to accept the school’s Distinguished Alumni Award for her pioneering work in vehicle safety advocacy.
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“I got into this business kicking and screaming,” Fennell said. “After me, my husband and our nine-month-old baby were kidnapped and locked in the trunk and left for dead.”
In 1995, Fennell and her family were attacked in their driveway, forced into the trunk of their car, and driven away by strangers.
While they ultimately escaped, the experience revealed a dangerous truth: no federal policies or reliable data were addressing how people, especially children, were being injured or killed in and around vehicles.
Fennell went on to found Kids and Car Safety, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing tragedies like the one she and her family endured.
With no existing national database to track these incidents, she created her own, and used that data to push for policy changes in Washington, D.C.
Over the past three decades, her work has directly contributed to federally mandated safety features now standard in nearly all vehicles, including:
- Glow-in-the-dark trunk release mechanisms (required in all vehicles since 2002)
- Safer power window switches that prevent accidental injuries to children
- Brake-shift interlock systems, which ensure the driver’s foot is on the brake before shifting out of park
- Rearview cameras, now required in all new vehicles since 2018
“We were successful in getting glow-in-the-dark trunk releases now in all vehicles from 2001 or newer,” Fennell said. “And not one person has died in the trunk of a car that has that glow-in-the-dark trunk release.”
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Though Fennell has received national awards and has worked with lawmakers, automakers, and even the United Nations, Fennell says her work is far from over.
“I never thought in my wildest imagination that I’d be doing something like this,” she said. “But it proves that one person can make a difference.”
