Collier mother of daughter killed by distracted driver advocates for stricter laws

Kristin Murphy, losing her daughter Chelsey to a distracted driver in 2010, pushes through the pain to promote safe driving policies.

“(It’s) still very raw but what keeps me going is maybe saving a life,” Kristin said.

Chelsey was crossing at the intersection of Airport Pulling Road and U.S. 41 when she was hit and killed by an 18-year-old driver using his phone at the time of the crash.

“Our generation of children they had cell phone before they had cars so they think they have this — they think they’re pros —they’re not,” Kristin said.

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, a time where Kristin said she hopes to raise awareness and reach people behind the wheel through. She works with an organization called, Stop Distractions, in an effort to promote tougher texting and driving laws.

“It gets the word out we remind the public we remind them every single year in April what can happen,” she said.

The sheriff’s office said deputies investigated 775 distracted driving cases in the last six months.

“I say to everybody, …’do you want to be the one that is watching your child be lowered to the ground,'” Kristin said. “It’s going to happen if they don’t put down their cell phones.”

Kristin said she’ll continue efforts pushing for change in November to make the intersection safer.