No Text, No Drink, No Risk Is Worth a Life

It was 1:30 am on a Saturday night, the EMS radio went off. I was the charge nurse on the night shift, the first to hear the call. The voice was tight with urgency…Incoming was an unidentified female, unconscious and suffering multiple traumas, she was struck by a vehicle that hit and ran. Intubated on site, EMS was actively doing compressions. ETA 10 minutes. We thought it was just another day, another trauma. We are prepared for these emergencies all the time; we’re the Level-One Trauma Center for our university’s campus. But nothing prepared us for that night: the night the nurse working in triage, our friend…her daughter would come in and fight for her life because of distracted and drunken driving.

Minutes later, EMS wheeled the body in. Unrecognizable from blunt trauma. We immediately began our trauma care with the surgery team. Compressions are still ongoing, she’s bleeding, and we’re doing everything we can to save her. I’m standing at the head of the trauma bay, helping facilitate the room and getting extra supplies. Social work finds the wallet in her belongings, taps me on the shoulder and shows me the I.D…it’s Nikki’s daughter. What was a Jane Doe, was Katelyn…someone who was special to us. Someone we knew and cherished. Someone close to home.

Minutes later, the trauma attending shouts, “We are heading to the OR!”. As we quickly prepared to leave, social work found Nikki just in time. Nikki sprinting to the bedside, holding Katelyn’s feet, trembling and shouting “stay with me baby, stay with me”. The scream of a mother about to lose a child, is a sound no one should hear. Seconds later, they are rushed to the OR. Within minutes another EMS radio call goes off. Incoming was a young, intoxicated male. He was found in a vehicle that crashed into a light pole close to the previous scene. He was agitated and aggressive in handcuffs with police. ETA 10 minutes. This was the driver who hit and ran…

Before we could even process the tragedy that had just transpired, EMS brought him in. The contrast was gut-wrenching: someone who just left, someone some of us considered family, a daughter fighting for her life. Then there was the man who had caused such great devastation. He was sitting upright, drunk, with barely a scratch. He was medically cleared and taken to jail. The man had admitted to drinking and distracted driving to the police. Hours later, despite every prayer and effort…Katelyn, a daughter, a student, a sister, an innocent pedestrian, passed away in the ICU in the arms of her mother.

That night was a devastating reminder of the truth that teen driver safety is vital. It’s an important public issue because when we aren’t safe, it’s costly. Driving safety is an urgent, life-or-death issue. Working in the emergency department, I have seen too many lives, both young and old end from preventable car accidents. But this one, my friend’s daughter, hit too close to home. Katelyn should be finishing her college degree, finding herself in the world, and planning her future. Instead, she is a memory. All because someone ignored the rules we all know: don’t drink and drive, and keep your attention on the road. While Katelyn was the unfortunate pedestrian that night, the same risks threaten teen drivers every day: distraction and alcohol.

Motor vehicle crashes remain one of the leading causes of death for teenagers. Teens aren’t just inexperienced, their decision-making skills are still developing. When you add distractions like cell phones and environments that promote risk-taking, like college campuses or the party life, the danger multiplies. Especially with smartphones, the quick scrolling culture of social media and watching reels can shorten attention spans, making it harder for drivers to stay fully focused on the road.

Driver’s education plays such a critical role that can reduce these dangers. It not only teaches teens how to drive, but the lifelong responsibility that comes with it. Unfortunately, too often these lessons are treated as a box to check rather than a commitment to safety. Distracted and impaired driving, I fear are viewed by some as problems only if they get caught, instead of seeing them as deadly risks that can change lives forever. Or they know it’s wrong and still choose to do it anyway. Education plays a critical role in addressing teen driving safety, but we have to do better. With the education in place, we still have drunk and distracted drivers. In order to help teens overcome these challenges, we have to come together as a community to better support them.

With a problem so large at scale, we have to think big, we have to think collaboratively, and with all the technology that exists today, we should have an innovative mindset. Using technology, app developers could create an accountability app that allows teens to set a “going out” status for the night. The app could automatically notify trusted friends or family members who could then offer rides, connect them with Uber or Lyft, or alert designated relations if needed. The app could also have a driving feature, where social media apps will not be accessible while the vehicle is in motion or the user is driving. The app could also detect if someone is driving or moving at fast speeds. Then automatically disable apps until it detects no longer moving at a fast speed. This would be a proactive approach that blends technology with responsibility, making the devices that often distract teens into tools that help save lives.

Another action we should take is in the drivers-ed education, incorporate real life consequences. When a teen obtains their driver’s license, the education would include real-life testimonials, trauma stories, or interactive crash simulations. The course could bring healthcare providers into the classroom to share the lasting impacts of trauma injuries like spinal cord injuries, what types of surgeries may have to take place  or consequences of not wearing a helmet with motorcycles. Patients, who have been impacted could share their experience or families could share testimonials of their loss. That kind of exposure would leave a lasting impact, teaching that safe driving isn’t just about rules. It’s about protecting people’s futures, their friends, their families, themselves, and our communities.

Katelyn’s death was the result of one person’s choice to drive distracted while also drinking and driving. A choice that could have been prevented with better education, stricter accountability, and a culture that takes safety more seriously. My hope is that by sharing Katelyn’s story, someone will think twice before they pick up their phone, before they speed through an intersection, before they get behind the wheel after drinking. If that happens, even once, then Katelyn’s story will help save someone else’s life! If we can shift the way teens, parents, and communities talk about driving from a rite of passage to a life-saving responsibility, we could all save lives. It starts with education, but it has to be backed by accountability and a shared belief that no text, no drink, no risk is worth a life.