WOODS CROSS -- Jennifer Jasper's son Derek was following all the rules of the road when he was involved in a fatal car accident while coming home after a church basketball game.
Derek Jasper and Blake Strebel, both 19-year-old Weber State students, were killed April 22, 2009, in Ogden, when, police say, then-17-year-old Mark Mora hit them while trying to elude police as a burglary suspect.
Police said Mora topped 80 mph, needing only 6.1 seconds to travel one block from Adams Avenue to Washington Boulevard and crash into Jasper and Strebel, killing them both instantly.
Less than 18 months later, Jennifer Jasper is telling her son's story as part of the Utah Teen Driving Task Force's "Don't Drive Stupid" campaign, in hopes that other teen drivers across the state will use a little more caution on the roads.
The task force is co-chaired by representatives of the Utah Department of Health Violence and Injury Prevention Program and the Utah Department of Public Safety Highway Safety Office, and uses real stories of Utah teen traffic fatalities from the past year to get their safe driving message out.
"Derek wasn't doing anything wrong," Jasper said. "That is hard to accept sometimes, but I think being a part of this program will save some lives in the future."
As part of the campaign, the task force is distributing a book titled "You Don't Get to Say Goodbye -- Stories of Teen Lives Lost on Utah Roads in 2009."
In Jasper's entry, she talks of the utter shock she felt when learning of her son's death.
"I can never forget the complete sickness and anxiety that came over me when I knew I had to tell my children what had happened to their brother," Jasper's entry reads. "I will never be able to get the memory of their reaction on the phone out of my head. It was so awful."
According to the Department of Health, car accidents kill more teens ages 13-19 in Utah than any other cause of death. In 2009, 35 teens were killed on Utah roads.
At Woods Cross High School on Tuesday, Jeremy Allan spoke of his 16-year-old daughter Porscha, who was killed in an accident Sept. 11, 2009.
Porscha was with friends in Bountiful Canyon when her boyfriend lost control of his vehicle and crashed. The passenger side of the vehicle, where Porscha was sitting without a seat belt, was completely crushed.
"In just a few seconds, she was gone," Allan said. "(Her) boyfriend made several mistakes that night, but the biggest mistake was that no one was wearing a seat belt. The wreck, and Porscha's death, could have been prevented."
Allan said he and his family are still recovering from the tragic event.
"I can't describe what it's done to our family," he said. "But if telling our story helps one family, then it's a story worth telling."
To download a copy of the "You Don't Get to Say Goodbye" book, visit www.dontdrivestupid.com.
Comments