PULSE Magazine | May 2019 Issue

Kailee’s parents said she was very good about wearing her seat belt. “We can't recall one single time that we had to remind her and never caught her with- out it on. Her friends were all in shock because she was the one that always made sure everyone was buckled up. She never put her car in drive until all of her passengers were buckled up. As a backseat passenger, close to home, not going far, she let her guard down and had her seat belt off at the wrong time. These types of things happen in mere seconds and when you least expect it. We are all guilty of a momentary lapse in judgement when it comes to how safe we feel some- times; especially when we are close to home. We all need a reminder, that life is precious, and we have to protect always protect ourselves.” In the weeks after the crash, the Mills looked up statistics on seat belt use and traffic crashes. “What we found not only surprised us, but made us sick to our stomachs. We learned how many peo- ple die each year on the road because they weren’t buckled up; and how many lives could be saved. So many of these fatalities were completely preventable, if they were wearing seat belts. We want to change these statistics.” Car accidents are the leading cause of death in this country for people ages 1-54. Each one of those fatalities leave behind family and friends who must find the strength to carry on without them; that deep loss is difficult and painful be- yond words. We know that pain first-hand because we live with it every day. Even though surveys show that the seat belt use rate in this country has topped 90 percent in recent years, that still leaves over 35 million people who do not wear their seat belts. “We want our daughter’s story to serve as a reminder to others about the im- portance of wearing seat belts. Our goal is to prevent other families from having to go through the same pain and loss that we are going through. Kailee was always helping people and this is her legacy: to help educate and impact the culture sur- rounding seat belt use, and help families who have to endure loss.”

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