Bonnie Raffaele lost her daughter in an accident in 2010. Her daughter was distracted, on the phone
LANSING, MI -- An update tonight in the story we’ve been following about a mother whose daughter was killed in a car accident while talking on the phone. Tuesday, she testified before a panel of state lawmakers.
State Senator Howard Walker introduced legislation to Michigan Senate’s Energy and Technology Committee which would ban beginner drivers from using a cell phone behind the wheel.
Testifying in support of the bill was Bonnie Raffaele.
"I ask you today to please help me save the kids, and to keep somebody else from suffering like we are," said Bonnie Raffaele to a panel of state lawmakers.
An emotional plea from a parent who lost her daughter way too early. Bonnie sat in front of the Michigan Senate's Energy and Technology Committee, reliving January 24th, 2010, the day her daughter Kelsey was distracted by a cell phone call and got in an accident, an accident that took her life.
“I did not know the dangers of talking on the phone while driving," said Bonnie.
Bonnie has self-named this bill ‘Kelsey's Law,’ which would ban Level Two Beginner Drivers from being on the phone when learning how to drive.
"It’s important to put a face to the issue and she brings with her not only the knowledge, but the passion of this issue, and how it affects lives,” says Senator Howard Walker, who invited Bonnie to Lansing to testify.
Senator Walker says the law could face scrutiny from other law makers who may fear this is the beginning of a state-wide ban on drivers using phones. He addressed that.
“I think the experienced driver is different from the beginning driver, and for that reason, I’ve narrowed this bill to focus only on the Level Two Probationary Drivers," says Walker.
And that's what Bonnie wishes. She’s told Kelsey’s story 29 times before, Tuesday was the 30th and she says, the most important.
“Keeping her memory alive and keeping the kids safe. I know she's saved so many lives since she has passed away, I can't count them," says Bonnie.
Kelsey's friends held a banner with more than two-thousand signatures of children pledging to put the phone down when behind the wheel.
"Bonnie has made it so far, and this is an important law that should be passed," says Kelsey’s friend Jordan Beatty, who was in Lansing Tuesday.
“It's something that needs to be done, because people don't realize how dangerous it is, and they definitely should," says Stacey Hough, who was also in Lansing.
Senator Howard Walker hopes his support and Bonnie's testimony lead the bill to the Capitol, where it's voted on and put into law.
The Michigan Senate Energy and Technology Committee will meet next week to discuss and vote on whether the bill should move to the senate floor.
We'll let you know what happens.
