Davis Law Group, P.S.

Miss Utah USA Committed to Texting While Driving Campaign

Miss Utah USA Jamie Lynn Crandall is committed to educating others about the dangers of distracted driving.

In 2007, Crandall lost her best friend Lauren Mulkey to a driver who was texting. She was just 17-years-old.

When she was crowned Miss Utah, she immediately focused her attention on distracting driving.

"Lauren had just taken me home, and she was at an intersection nearby with a green light,’ Crandall said. “Another car entered the intersection from her left. The driver had a red light for six seconds, but he was texting at the wheel and didn't see it. He wasn't even injured."

Mulkey’s mother founded “Hang up, Save a Life” to raise awareness about America’s distracted driving problem.

The campaign includes a website, t-shirts, bumper stickers, billboards, and a scholarship fund.

Both women have visited many schools and churches to share her story.

"I tell them that, if they text and drive, their lives could change forever in a split second,” Crandall said. “It was so hard for me to get that phone call in the morning after I had just been with Lauren hours before. It’s really sad; I still have her green East High track team sweater that I had been wearing that night.“

Crandall also worked to get a bill passed by the Utah State Legislature against texting and driving. The law in Utah was one of the first passed, in 2009.

She continues to use her title as Miss Utah USA to continue spreading her friend's story and prevent people from texting behind the wheel.


Click here to learn more about the "Hang up, save a life" campaign.