Family Friend Turns Tragedy Into Campaign To Teach Others
The CBS affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth reported a news story about how students at a local Christian school are turning a tragedy into a chance to do good in the community.
Almost three years ago, Tita Shaffer, 12, who was a student at Liberty Christian School in Argyle and her mother were killed in a wrong-way collision involving a driver who had been texting behind the wheel.
On April 9, 2016, Tita and her mother had been traveling northbound on Highway 377, approximately 30 miles north of Fort Worth and just a mile away from the school when a southbound vehicle wandered into their lane and struck their vehicle head-on.
The accident killed both Tita and her mother, Emma, 41 as well as the other driver and her passenger.
One of Tita’s best friends, Janae Cook, worked with her mother to turn the tragedy into something positive. Janae and her mother, Heather worked together along with the school and began the campaign “Text Free for Tita”. The campaign seeks to raise public awareness and to reduce incidents of distracted driving. According to the campaign page, statistics show that one out of every five accidents in the state of Texas involves a distracted driver.
The Patterson Law Group, in partnership with Heather and Janae Cook, began a bi-annual scholarship the honor of Tita and her mother. Students are encouraged to create videos, poems, photos or other types of multi-media to raise awareness and to discourage distracted driving. Twice a year, the winner of the scholarship will be awarded $1,000 to a university or law school for tuition and other related expenses.
