We sat down with Diveeta Thompson today. Her son Rodney died back in 2008. He went reaching for his phone after he got a text alert and lost control of his vehicle. He ran into a utility pole. His mother says she hopes the law will help save other kids lives.
"I'm just thankful," says Thompson. She says after her son's death, she had to do something. She spoke to the House and Senate in an effort to get the bill passed into law. "My heart hurt so and I just wanted to prevent another family from experiencing this excruciating pain that my family had to experience," she says.
Her son, Rodney, was traveling down a stretch of
"It's a devastating ramification to have to deal with those circumstances for such a senseless reason," Thompson says. She says the death of her son opened her eyes. She admits she used to text and drive.
"I was doing it, I was guilty," she says. Now she has pledged not to and encourages others to do the same. Sunday would have been Rodney's 21st birthday. There is a basketball tournament in his honor tomorrow. Thompson says "We play basketball, the kids have fun, there's family there and we have scholarships in memory of him."
As of July 1st texting is illegal but you can still talk on your phone and surf the internet. Thompson says she is against distracted driving period but says this is a step in the right direction. She says "It's not as much as I would like but every little bit helps."
For more information about the basketball tournament or to take the "Don't Text and Drive" pledge, got to:
http://standd.org/
