(Bartlett, TN) Memphis is one of the deadliest cities for young drivers.
The Centers for Disease Control ranks Memphis fourth in the country because about a fourth of the people who die on Tennessee roads are young people.
Fletcher Cleaves is paralyzed from the chest down.
He was put in a wheelchair after being hit by someone suspected of texting and driving, “I’m living proof that it is serious and it can cause a traumatic effect. I was on a football scholarship and now I have to depend on other people for certain things.”
Fletcher was a football star at Cordova High and on scholarship at Lambuth College.
His parents had to go on leave from work and eventually lost their jobs because taking care of him is a job in itself, all because of a text.
“When you’re driving you’re not just affecting you you’re affecting everyone around you,” said Cleaves.
Fletcher shared his story with the students at Bartlett High hoping he can keep at least one person from texting and driving.
The students at Bartlett High got to experience the dangers of texting and driving first hand by driving a computerized simulator while trying to text.
“It’s life changing. It’s a life changing experience,” said Paige Chaffen.
Chaffen says the computerized simulator changes the way she thinks about texting and driving.
She even signed a pledge to never text and drive, “Texting and diving is dangerous and it’s life threatening. You can put anybody’s life in harm’s way and yours too.”
AT&T sponsored the event and hopes Bartlett students learned a lesson about texting and driving and pass it on.
