Levitan Family Recognizes Hands-Free Georgia

To recognize the Hands-Free Georgia Act, which went into effect July 1, 2018, the family of Merritt Levitan, an 18 year old young woman hit by a distracted driver on July 2, 2013, and TextLess Live More (TLLM), a student-led, national awareness campaign to end distracted driving, founded in her honor, held a press conference and award’s ceremony in the South Wing of the Georgia State Capitol. Merritt’s younger sister Hunter (21) and brother Joe (18) presented the TextLess Live More Service Award to Rep. John Carson, who co-authored HB 673, and Sen. P.K. Martin, the administration floor leader who supported the bill in the Senate – for their legislative leadership on the Hands-Free Georgia Act. Students Against Destructive Decisions’ (SADD) National Student of the Year, Lauren Roscoe, presented Georgia educator Mary Belechak , a school counselor at Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Georgia, with the TextLess Live More Hero Award for her work to end distracted driving. Belechak has presented TextLess Live More to over 2,000 Georgia high school students in Glynn County since learning about Merritt’s death in 2013. TextLess Live More is a partner of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), the nation’s premier youth health and safety organization, which also seeks to end distracted driving and the loss of life and serious injuries it causes. The Levitans announced a call-to-action for the remaining 34 states in the nation to pass Hands-Free legislation and pledged their support and commitment to work with organizations, specifically Stop Distractions.org, to ensure Hands-Free passage across the nation. The Levitans and TextLess Live More, along with StopDistractions.org and Massachusetts-based Safe Roads Alliance, will hold a rally on the steps of the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday, July 11 at 12:30 to press for Hands-Free legislation in Massachusetts. They also committed to creating End Distracted Driving PSAs to raise awareness among teens about the new Georgia law and the dangers of distracted driving. Anna Cheshire Levitan also shared the Kiefer Foundation's Stop Distracted Driving Campaign, a PSA competition, awarding $50,000 in scholarships to young people ages 16 or older. The campaign spans across the “100 Deadliest Days” of distracted driving (concluding Sept. 3) and will award scholarships to the top five videos with a grand prize of $25,000 and an opportunity to produce the concept professionally.

July 2, 2018- Atlanta, Ga: A photograph of Merritt Levitan, left, is shown during the TextLess Live More press conference in recognition of the Hands-Free Georgia Act which went into effect July 1st at the Georgia State Capitol Monday, July 2, 2018, in Atlanta. The TextLess Live More activities July 2nd are in honor of Merritt Levitan, an 18-year-old woman who was hit by a distracted driver five years ago today. Levitan died of her injuries the day after being hit by the vehicle. Photo by JASON GETZ / GETZ IMAGES Here are the remarks made by the Levitan Family in honor of Merritt. (Anna Cheshire Levitan/Merritt's mother) Thank you all for coming today. We are the Levitans. On behalf of my husband Rich, our children Hunter and Joe, our family members and friends who have come to Atlanta today and those who are watching from across the United States – on behalf of TextLess Live More, a national student education and awareness campaign to end distracted driving, founded in honor of our daughter Merritt Levitan, hit by a distracted driver on this very day five years ago, July 2, 2013, and on behalf of our partner Students Against Destructive Driving, we stand in prayerful solidarity, strength and hope with ALL families who have lost loved ones to distracted driving – on this important day in Georgia. We come together today to recognize Hands-Free Georgia, as an impactful and meaningful law that will save lives and prevent tragic accidents associated with distracted driving. We come together today together to say thank you to two Georgia lawmakers who championed Hands-Free Georgia and worked tirelessly to make driving safer for everyone in our state – passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and travelers. We come together to recognize a Georgia educator who – long before Hands-Free Georgia was a reality – championed the TextLess Live More message to educate and raise awareness among young people about the very real, tragic and dangerous consequences of distracted driving and took action. Because One text. One snapchat. One stream - can end a precious life. As was the case five years ago today, when on a sunny day, blue-sky day in July, a young driver struck our beautiful, vivacious and brilliant 18 year-old-daughter Merritt. Merritt suffered traumatic brain injuries from the impact – and our brilliant, brilliant daughter died the next day. Words fail. The impact of July 2, 2013 reverberates still. July 2nd is a special day, especially in our family – the day when a series of text messages ended Merritt’s life and changed the course of our lives irrevocably – and it is a special day FOR ALL families who have lost a loved one to distraction. It is a special day for anyone who drives in the state of Georgia. Thank you Representative Carson and Senator Martin. Thank you, Governor Deal. Thank you for stopping all future stories like ours. Thank you for ending distracted driving. Thank you for saving lives. Thank you for preventing tragic crashes due to distracted driving. As the granddaughter of the former President Pro Tempore of the Georgia Senate, Judge Julian Webb, the important work you do in this very building protects the well-being of Georgia's citizenry. Today my grandfather, Merritt's great grandfather, along with Merritt and all the others above lost to distracted driver, are smiling down in support of the work you have done with Hands-Free Georgia to save lives. (Rich Levitan/Merritt's father) Our message today is one of recognition and thanks, but also a Call-to-Action for the remaining 34 states in the United States to pass Hands Free Legislation. Today, we formally announce a collaboration with Stop Distractions.org, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the lifelong devastation that results when a loved one is killed or injured in a distracted driving crash, and Students Against Destructive Decisions (S.A.D.D.) to pursue Hands Free legislation across our nation. Stop Distractions.org along with many Georgia families who lost loved ones to distracted driving, was instrumental in helping Hands-Free Georgia become a law. Alongside Stop Distractions.org, S.A.D.D., Safe Roads Alliance and other organizations dedicated to Hands Free Legislation, we will take our message next to Massachusetts, where on July 11 at 12:30, we will hold a rally on the steps of the Massachusetts State House to ask for lawmakers Hands-Free legislation. From there, we will travel to the remaining states to tell our personal story of traumatic, preventable loss and join hands with other families to PASS HANDS FREE. The facts are clear: you can’t drive looking down. The impact of a 4 ton machine travelling down a road with a driver looking down are clear: death and crashes follow, taking lives and causing preventable tragic injuries. TextLess Live More is also honored to announce today a “Hands Free PSA” campaign to raise awareness among young people about the new law that went into effect yesterday. We welcome thoughts and ideas on creative ways to spread this message. And now, I’d like to introduce Hunter and Joe Levitan, Merritt’s younger sister and brother to present the TextLess Live More Service Award to Representative John Carson, who co-authored HB 673, and Senator P.K. Martin, the administration floor leader who supported the bill in the Se