More and more people are killed by distracted drivers each year in Texas. And cell phones are mostly to blame.
On Wednesday, TXDOT officials kicked off a campaign called 'Talk/Text/Crash' to get people to put those cell phones down.
“You know I just don’t want any other parent, or any other family to go through what we had to go through,” said Fort Worth mom Kathy Bond.
Bond knows how it feels to lose someone due to texting and driving.
In September of 2011, her 22-year-old daughter, Katrina, died when a driver who was texting rear-ended her on I-35W.
“I think people need to realize is what can that text say on there that would be so important, and what would you feel like if you killed somebody,” said Bond.
Since her daughter’s death, Bond has been on a mission to make texting and driving illegal though out the state of Texas, and has teamed up with TxDOT officials to see more drivers put their cell phones down while driving.
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TxDOT officials said each year the number of accidents is increasing.
"In 2013, there were over 95,000 distracted driver collisions, nearly 20,000 serious injuries, and over 500 deaths on Texas roads," said TxDOT spokesperson Natalie Galindo.
All they want is for people not to use their cell phones while driving.
"My phone stays in my pocket,” said driver Steve Wooster. “If I feel it is going to be important or if I feel my phone is vibrating or ringing more than once, I will pull over.”
Bond hopes to see a state law passed in Texas, and eventually a federal law to prevent another death from happening.
"I don't know what that text said that killed my daughter, but I am positive it was nothing worth it," said Bond.
Currently, it is illegal to text and drive in 38 Texas cities.
