Texting and Driving Fatality Hits Home: A Father’s Words for You and Yours

One of my Father's Co-workers shared this and I wanted to pass it onto you all:

I was a little late arriving to the office this morning, as I took a bit longer than usual to hug our kiddos and make sure our oldest, a junior in high school, was doing ok and made it off to school safely. Why, you might be asking, was this morning any different than most mornings? Here's the sad answer to that understandable question:

Early yesterday evening, a beautiful young lady --- just a few weeks shy of her senior prom and graduation --- sadly passed from this life, as the vehicle she was driving veered into the path of a dump truck on the 50mph farm-to-market road that passes in front of the high school. While the cause(s) are still being investigated, early indications from those at the scene are that the young lady was looking down at something, presumably her phone, just prior to her vehicle leaving its lane.

Our oldest is on the high school baseball team, which had just started its practice a few hundred yards from where the accident occurred and heard the collision. From where they were practicing, the team was able to see what had occurred and, in a wave of shock and sadness, were able to see their friend's very distinctively painted jeep pinned underneath the heavy-duty truck. As I drove by the school this morning shortly after seeing our kids off, I saw hundreds of kids outside holding an impromptu vigil around their friend's parking space. This young lady's family lives in our neighborhood and we can only imagine the heartbreak that they have been feeling these past several hours.

I'm truly sorry to impact your day with such sad news, but decided it was worth doing so to help share & reinforce the message for all of us, our kids, and their friends, that it only takes a moment's distraction --- whether to type or read a text, place or answer a call --- to irrevocably change the lives of so many of those we love and like in this life. And then let's not be afraid to repeat that message frequently --- I say this as, as unbelievable as this may sound, this is the second accident to happen very near the high school in less than a week that claimed a life, and both are believed to have involved phone-related distractions (the one last week sadly saw a car careen off the road and over-correct into the path of a school bus carrying special needs students...thankfully, none of the kids nor the bus driver were seriously hurt physically, but they are surely still working through the emotional pain incurred, as are the family& friends of the woman driving the car).

If you don't mind, please include these young ladies, their families and all who knew and will miss them in your family's prayers, as well as the drivers and passengers of the dump truck and bus, the first responders and everyone's families, as they are all undoubtedly very shaken at this time.

Thanks, and let's please all put our phones down --- for good --- while we're driving and encourage our family and friends to do the same. -Mark