image via – youtube.com
On a beautiful sunny morning in March, Leslee and David Henson of St. George, Utah, decided to take a walk together. Parents of three children and twelve grandchildren, they had moved to this lovely neighborhood to enjoy as much time with their expanding family as they could.
They had no way of knowing that their walk would change their lives forever, as a driver’s distraction would result in tragedy. In the video below you will hear Leslee share what happened, in the hopes that her story will finally be the wake-up call about the destruction caused by texting while driving.
Carla Brennan, 52, was late for work that morning. She didn’t wake up with the intention of hurting someone…just in a rush, she was speeding and texting. She rear-ended another vehicle which hit the Hensons; David, 57, died on the way to the hospital, and Leslee suffered multiple fractures to her neck and lower back, as well as other injuries requiring 5,000 stitches.
Shockingly, Brennan only received a 240 day jail sentence with a plea deal. Her car was unregistered and uninsured, and she was driving 20 miles over the speed limit when she crashed. ABC 4 UTAH reported the Henson’s daughter, Haley’s, anguished recall; because a woman had to text that she was late to work, she lost her father and her children their grandpa.
In order to raise awareness, and to help ease the overwhelming pain over the tragedy that befell her family, Haley founded “Stop the Texts, Stop the Wrecks.” Thanks to the unrelenting efforts of the Henson family, the state laws of Utah were changed in 2014, strictly prohibiting texting while driving.
Despite the fact that so many states have these strict laws, texting while driving still persists. Watching Leslee’s story in the footage below, provides more information that brings home the consequences of distracted driving.
The Henson’s are one out of thousands and thousands of families whose lives are ruined, because people still believe nothing will happen if they look away from the road for a moment.
Help spread their story and stop tragedies like this happening in the future.
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