Faces of Distracted Driving: Cady Reynolds, 16

It is a great privilege to share with you today not only the next installment in our Faces of Distracted Driving video series, but a young woman who has a lifesaving message for her peers:

"If I'm in the car with someone and they're texting while driving, I will tell them to stop. I'll say, 'Don't text with me in the car; don't talk on the phone with me in the car. I'm not comfortable with that. But would you like me to do that for you?' I really think that's a good idea for teens to do with other teens. It's a good way to get out of the situation. And it gets the point across."

At 17, Emily Reynolds of Omaha, Nebraska, is our first teen-aged narrator in the "Faces" series, and it's difficult to imagine meeting a more self-assured young woman.

But, that self-assurance did not come without a cost. It stems from the tragic loss, in 2007, of her older sister Cady at the hands of another young driver.

The other driver was texting behind the wheel and did not even see that the traffic light in front of her had been red for several seconds, long enough for one car from the other lane to completely clear the intersection. Unfortunately, Cady, who was only 16, was driving the second car proceeding through the intersection on the green. As the texting driver sped into the intersection against the red light, her vehicle struck Cady's directly on the driver's side.

Cady (far right) and her siblings celebrate a family birthday

As Emily describes her, Cady was a girl who:

"...had a kind of presence where she just walked into a room, and it made everything good. She really cared about everybody, and had great plans for the future, for helping others."

The world has been robbed of Cady's warmth and generosity, and the Reynolds family has been forever robbed of a beloved daughter and sister. Why?

Emily Reynolds shares her story

Because, as Emily says, "Someone made a choice that took someone else's life."

So, today I urge you to help other teens get the message by sharing this video with your friends, your siblings, your school. Emily has good, practical advice for young drivers and passengers.

Please, let's make it count.

If you have a distracted driving experience you'd like to share, post a video on YouTube and email a link to faces@distraction.gov.