Teen dies, family vows to speak out against texting and driving

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Ashley Jones, 22, was texting and driving on February 18, 2011. Her mother Diana Jones got a call from a state policeman the same day.

“Your daughter's been killed. It's a parent's nightmare to hear that,” she said. Diana said she knows all of the details of her daughter’s last drive. “She hit a box truck head on, killed her instantly. The driver actually saw her looking down and he was yelling, ‘Look up! Look up!’ Thinking she was going to look up, but she crossed and he tried everything to miss her,” she said.

Ashley’s phone was found on the floorboard of her car. Police determined she had been texting at the time.

Her sister, Cheryce Davis Jones, said hearing about the accident made her angry. “The thing that upset me the most was that it's 100% avoidable,” she said. “I should have my sister here today. She should not have died.”

Now, Cheryce and Diana speak out every chance they get to talk to teens and their parents about the dangers of texting and driving. Originally from Washington State, they flew to Indiana Thursday to be guest speakers at Parkview Health’s Don’t Text and Drive Seminar. They say they will go anywhere to tell their story if it means saving a life.

“I didn't want my daughter's death to be in vain,” said Diana. “If any time I spoke I could save one person, then it's worth it.”

Cheryce said she used to be guilty of texing and driving, too, usually her sister Ashley. She says she hasn’t touched her phone behind the wheel since.

“I can honestly say it took me losing my sister's life to stop and I know by going to these (events) we want to save one person's life, but I know that she saved mine,” she said.

Diana and Cheryce have adopted a new policy when it comes to phones in the car and they hope everyone will join them.

“We put our phones on silent because even if your phone is on vibrate or it has a ring, you're distracted,” said Diana. “You look right at your phone. When it's on silent, there's no distraction. You have nothing to answer there.”

Diana and Cheryce have gotten nearly 1,000 people to sign an oath to stop texting and driving and say they will never stop.