SUWANNEE COUNTY, Fla. — A Suwannee County mother is making sure everyone sees the dangers of distracted driving through yard signs.
The signs say "drive like your kids live here." Alicia Mincy said she wants it to be a reminder for people to put their distractions down and focus on the road.
"We live in a very rural area, so many many people drive way too fast," said Mincy.
The signs have a special meaning to Mincy. Her son, Kaleb Underwood, was killed by a distracted driver last December. At the time, the 16-year-old was just walking down the road when he was hit.
It’s now Mincy’s goal to make sure that doesn't happen to another person.
"We've become such a society that's dependent on technology that we feel that we can't even break away from it for a 10 minute drive somewhere," said Mincy. "We just want to try to redirect people's attention to the road."
She's in the process of creating a nonprofit in her son's memory and it starts with those signs.
"Instead of getting stuck in the grief and the anguish of it and it and getting angry at the person who killed our son, we have opted to put that energy into something positive to bring awareness," said Mincy.
She’s added her son’s name to the signs to drive her message home.
"That makes it a more real issue," said Mincy. "So, we're willing to let Kaleb be the name and the face of what happens when you drive distracted. "
Underwood’s best friend, Jacob Schockley, said his death opened his eyes.
"Hopefully kids hearing about the story, it opens their eyes that your life can change instantly when you take your eyes off of the road," said Shockley. "You can't take back that one second because it could cost you your life or someone else's life."
The signs will be more than just a distracted driving warning. Whenever someone gets a sign from the nonprofit, that money will help send a kid to basketball camp. It was one of Underwood’s favorite things to do.
"Seeing that his family is trying to help other kids go to basketball camps to help them learn more is pretty amazing," said Shockley. "It really helps to carry on his name."
