LAS VEGAS - Eighteen-year-old Hillary LaVoie was returning home to Las Vegas from Reno when she died in a car accident. The driver of the car Hillary rode in was speeding and posting Facebook messages on her cell phone.
Pictures of the deadly wreck haunt Hillary's father Brian Lavoie. He hopes they will also haunt state lawmakers.
"If we can just save one life and stop one family from joining the club that my wife and I now belong to, because the price is way too high," he said. "Absolutely, this could have been avoided."
"If she would have slowed down, not had a cell phone in her hand, there would not have been a crash, and Hillary would be here today," he said.
Brian and other victims of distracted driving accidents testified to lawmakers Tuesday. The lawmakers are considering two bills. One would make it illegal to use a cell phone while driving, with exceptions for using a hands-free device. The other makes it a crime for minors to use cell phones while driving.
Twenty-seven-year-old Jenifer Watkins says she barely survived an accident in 2004. She says the driver who allegedly caused the wreck was apparently on her cell phone.
"I just remembered waking up one day not knowing where I was," she said. "People of any age don't realize how distracting it is when you're on your phone."
Sixteen injuries, six surgeries and at least three scars later, Jennifer is joining the campaign with the LaVoie family to pressure lawmakers to pass the cell phone ban.
"That's something you have to live with the rest of your life, knowing that you did that, because you were doing something stupid," Watkins said.
"There's a hole in my heart. There are no more good days. There are only good moments," said Brian LaVoie.
The bills still must make it out of their legislative committees. Thirty states currently ban cell phone use while driving. Ten enacted bans last year. Few people opposed the measures during Tuesday's testimony. Some who did say the language is too broad and would also ban two-way radios.
