On December 30th, Emily Huntington, a beautiful 18 year old girl made one decision that ended her life in an instant. Emily, a senior at Jac-Cen-Del High School in Southeastern Indiana was captain and leading scorer of her basketball team, on the honor roll, volunteered in her community and was recently accepted to Indiana University.
On that beautiful day in December, Emily was driving, picked up her phone to read and respond to a text message. She lost control of her car, it flipped and because she wasn’t wearing her seatbelt was ejected from her vehicle and died instantly.
Emily made a mistake. She didn’t have her seatbelt on that day, which friends say she ALWAYS wore and she was texting. I must admit, I always wear my seatbelt. When I was younger, my father a retired police officer, would always say, “I never pulled a dead body from a seatbelt.” But I am GUILTY of texting while driving. I am guilty of seeing the little red light blink in the corner of my blackberry and I check emails. Since Emily’s death every time I am tempted to text and drive I think of her. I think of how that could have been me. How that could have been you. We all do it.
Here are some statistics on Texting and Driving:
· About 6,000 deaths and a half a million injuries are caused by distracted drivers every year.· While teenagers are texting, they spend about 10 percent of the time outside the driving lane they’re supposed to be in.· Talking on a cell phone while driving can make a young driver’s reaction time as slow as that of a 70-year-old.
· Answering a text takes away your attention for about five seconds. That is enough time to travel the length of a football field.
For Emily’s death to be for nothing we must make changes in our lives. We must learn from her mistake. We must start advocating and spreading the word that Texting While Driving KILLS people. Emily’s friends and family don’t want others to experience the tragedy and loss that they are experiencing. The students and faculty where Emily went to school made a PSA. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRZfpgwwDkQPlease share this PSA with friends and family members young and old. If you are a teacher share it with your students. If you are employed share it with your coworkers. If you are in management or a decision maker at your workplace, tell your employees that no company text, phone call or e-mail is worth risking their lives or the lives of those on the road around them. It CAN wait.
My gift on this day back on January 21st was a financial donation to the Live, Laugh, Learn Scholarship fund created in Emily’s name. To date, over $31,000 has been raised for this scholarship fund. Today I challenge you to stop Texting and Driving. Don’t text….JUST DRIVE!
