EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Through the heartache, the parents of a local teen killed while texting and driving continue reaching out to high schools in West Michigan.
Jim and Dianne Freybler have found the courage to ask drivers not to use their phones behind the wheel after their son Jacob was killed June 18, 2014 in a texting and driving crash. Since one month after his death, Jim began speaking at about 10 schools per month, asking students to drive phone free, in hopes to save lives.
“He had a heart of gold and a big teethy smile, and it’s hard,” said Jim. “It’s hard not to have him here, very hard.”
Midway through his presentation Wednesday, to All Star Driving School students in East Grand Rapids, Jim showed Jacob’s cell phone; all that’s left intact from the crash.
“Why do I keep it? It’s got his voice on it,” said Jim. “So we call it once in a while.”
Jim played a teary voicemail Dianne left for her son after his crash: “Hey Jacob, it’s your Mom. Calling to say I love you and hope you call us sometime, come visit us or something.”
Presenting to high school students, Jim asks them to text his son’s last text: the words, “I’m not feeling well.”
“He was doing 60 miles per hour down a rural road highway and hit an SUV head on,” Jim said, as the students texted for a few seconds. “Now you know how long it takes to be killed texting and driving. You have the same four words that he had in his phone.”
According to the National Safety Council, the U.S. is on pace for the deadliest driving year since 2007. In this year alone, distracted driving has caused more than a quarter of driving deaths.
“Everybody’s doing it, and everybody is risking their life because of a phone,” said Jim. “That phone took my son’s life.”
Now Jim and Dianne want their son Jacob remembered as the loving, friendly, and talented guy that he was; not another statistic.
“He was my night owl with me,” said Dianne.
“We just love and miss him, and I’ll keep fighting Jake, I’ll keep fighting,” Jim said.
Theyask all drivers to make the pledge to drive phone free.
“So you’ve got your license and you’re not going to text and drive, proud of you, here’s the keys,” Jim said to the class. “Pretty easy, I think.”
The first presentation Jim gave was to Jacob’s school, Kenowa Hills High School, just one month after he was killed.
He carries his son’s legacy on giving this powerful message to stop distracted driving. The family also asks for donations in their GoFundMe page to raise money for the bracelets and other materials for their presentations.
