The mother of a senior high school student who died in a car crash after trying to reach for his cell phone will talk with students today about the common and careless mistake of texting and driving.
Diveeta Thompson, high school senior Rodney Thompson's mother, will speak at 7:30 p.m. in L.A. Pittenger Student Center Cardinal Hall B.
Health educator Julie Sturek said Diveeta Thompson will talk about how she lost her son to a trend that is catching on with many high school and college students.
"This is like an emerging trend as technology is on the rise," she said. "There are more and more accidents due to not only texting while driving, but just distracted driving in general."
Since her son's demise, Diveeta Thompson started a foundation in hopes of preventing the problem in the area as much as possible called Stop Texting and Driving Distracted.
STANDD has held three annual basketball tournaments for scholarship winnings in honor of Rodney Thompson since he passed away in October of 2008, according to STANDD's website.
Since Rodney Thompson attended Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, STANDD has reached out in the greater Fort Wayne area.
Diveeta Thompson has even made a national appearance. She told her story on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in April 2010.
Diveeta Thompson will make an appearance at the Indiana Statehouse before coming to campus. She will tell her story and show her support of Sen. Travis Holdman's (R-Markle) proposed texting while driving ban.
The Insurance Research Council said drivers of all ages texting while driving is a huge problem, with 18 percent of drivers owning up to texting. Diveeta Thompson's idea of targeting college students is relevant because IRC also cited 41 percent of drivers ages 25-39 admitted to texting while driving.
There are apps and gadgets that serve as alternatives to texting and driving. Drivesafe.ly provides free hands-free cell phone applications for people with Blackberry and Android phones to download. Text arrest is an online downloadable application that will lock cell phones while users are driving. Different settings can be applied for texting while driving leniency.
Sophomore exercise science major Jorie Kosmala is bringing Thompson to Ball State to pass the STANDD message and distracted driving awareness. Kosmala said her goal is to prevent students from making the same mistake her son did.
"We all think this will never happen to us, but Rodney was just a senior in high school," she said. "People don't realize it is not only a danger to themselves, but to others on the road as well."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
