Distracted Driving Awareness

A Sault Ste. Marie woman is bringing attention to distracted driving.

The message — don’t use your cell phone while you’re behind the wheel.

17-year-old Kelsey Raffaele was killed in a car accident two years ago.

She was on her cell phone when the accident happened.

Kelsey’s mom, Bonnie Raffaele, and Kelsey’s aunt are traveling around Michigan talking with high school students as part of a program called the KDR Challenge.

KDR were Kelsey’s initials, and in this case the initials stand for Kids Driving Responsibly.

The KDR Challenge is a special project of the Chippewa County Community Foundation that focuses on Michigan youth.

Kelsey’s family is also working with lawmakers in their district on passing a law to hopefully prevent something like this from happening again.

Bonnie’s goal is to encourage young drivers to always turn their cell phones off before driving a vehicle.

We’ll have more on this story tomorrow — you’ll hear from a driver’s ed teacher on graduated drivers’ licenses.

Posted by: Mike Hoey