Cell Use, Driving Don’t Mix ; Survivor Of Devastating Accident Warns Teens And Parents Of Dangers Of Phone Use While Operating Car. Driving The…
By Suzanne Cassidy | |
Proquest LLC |
Cell Use, Driving Don't Mix ; Survivor Of Devastating Accident Warns Teens And Parents Of Dangers Of Phone Use While Operating Car. Driving The Message Home A Daughter's Story Stronger Law Needed? A Mother's Story Ripple Effect Of Loss 'Compelling Reasons'
Staff Writer
Good's parents had died in a vehicle crash caused by a driver who was on his cellphone, and she was close to death.
After extensive surgery, her chances of survival were put at 10 percent.
On Saturday morning, she was the keynote speaker at a teen driver safety seminar at
Hahnlen was there, with her 15-year-old daughter, Kara.
Fighting tears at times, mother and daughter listened intently as Good shared her harrowing story and made her impassioned case against distracted driving.
"It's a very personal experience for me," said Hahnlen, a
As an ICU nurse, she said, "Unfortunately, I see it all."
And having seen so much, she said she knows there's a real need to better educate kids about driver safety.
That was the aim of the free breakfast seminar organized by
A hundred teens and parents turned out at
Young drivers are warned all the time about the dangers of distracted driving.
But there's nothing like looking into the faces of one woman who lost her parents and another who lost her son to drive the message home.
"It was very powerful, and it was very moving," said
"Their experiences can impact and influence us all if we're willing to listen."
The tractor-trailer driver swerved to avoid a minivan that had failed to stop at a red light. The minivan driver was talking on his phone.
She said her "Phi Beta Kappa brain" had to relearn the alphabet, how to read, how to count.
"My memories from rehab pretty much could be summed up in one word: pain," she said.
Three months after her accident, she could take a few steps. Four months after the accident, she moved back into her family home.
She had no memories of her accident, but she began to realize the extent of her loss - her beloved parents were really and truly gone - when she got home.
"I started to ask questions," she said. "I needed to know what happened."
The young man driving his mother's minivan was doing what he thought was safe: His phone was in speaker mode.
But even talking on the phone using Bluetooth or a phone's speaker function is dangerous, Good said.
The practice leads to what the
Good and her husband,
Good travels around the country to speak.
She appeared on "The
Now a resident of
"
In
But as
A driver simply can claim to have been dialing the phone, rather than texting.
And the offense carries a relatively small penalty: a
State Rep.
He said that when he worked second and third shift as a hospital X-ray technologist, he saw all kinds of traumatic injuries from motor accidents.
And commuting to
Rep.
He said Rep.
"I plan on taking a closer look at that proposed legislation," Mentzer said.
Three friends and teammates died in the same accident:
The teens had been trying to drive fast enough to make their car go airborne as it crested a
"They were good kids," Bryson said. "One decision made wrong cost their lives."
Bryson spoke of getting a phone call about the accident, of knowing that if her son were still alive, he would have texted her to say he was OK.
"I dropped to my knees and began begging God for help," she said.
She remembers walking to the morgue to see her son's body, and asking her pastor, "Did his spirit leave yet? Is he in heaven?"
She remembers her younger son asking if he could wear Nick's football number.
"That day, a part of me died when Nick died," she said.
Now, she said, "I live with pain every day."
She is focused on helping other families avoid that pain: She's the founder and CEO of
The need for such education has grown, as high schools have replaced mandatory driver education with a voluntary online course.
Vehicle crashes, Bryson pointed out, are the leading killer of American teens.
When
She wore a gown she chose with help from TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress" crew, but missed having her mother with her when she chose her gown.
She is unable to use her left arm, and has other lingering issues.
She implored the teens at the seminar to imagine being in her shoes.
Promise, she said, that "every single time you drive, you're smart, you're safe."
She implored them to turn off their cellphones or put them out of reach.
And she told them to speak up if a friend drives distractedly - the dangers are too serious, the potential losses "hurt too much," she said.
An accident hurts not only those directly involved, but has a ripple effect, she said, noting, "When we're on the road, we have to look out for each other."
He said the seminar offered "compelling reasons, compelling stories to not be distracted" when driving.
Her son, Zach, 16, is a junior at
Illysha DeJesus, 17, a junior at
"I think it really hits you, like, wow this could happen to anyone," Illysha said.
Her father,
"You don't realize until you start teaching somebody how to drive how many things they have to focus on," he said.
Beth Deliver, of
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Wordcount: | 1447 |
Arrests, incidents reports for March 28-30, 2014
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