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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The pictures were graphic, the statistics were frightening and the words were sobering.</p><p>Eileen Miller stood before hundreds of students at the Greater Nanticoke High School this week and told the story of how her life was forever changed on July 5, 2010, when her son, Paul Jr., was killed in a crash caused by a distracted driver.</p><p>It was a strong message &#8212; a message Mrs. Miller has delivered to thousands of students across Pennsylvania and the U.S.</p><p>It&#8217;s a message that must be received and followed &#8212; don&#8217;t text and drive.</p><p>Miller, of Scranton, told the 9th through 12th grade students that she and her family know all too well the dangers distracted driving can cause. Her son was driving his vehicle on Route 33 in Hamilton Township, when a southbound tractor-trailer crossed the center grass divider and traveled head-on into his car. At the time of the crash, the tractor trailer was being operated by a distracted driver &#8212; the man would later say he was reaching for his cell phone.</p><p>Paul died from the injuries he suffered as a result of the crash &#8212; he was 21.</p><p>&#8220;On July 5, 2010, in one second, our lives were tragically changed forever because of something so preventable,&#8221; Mrs. Miller said. &#8220;Our handsome beautiful son Paul Miller Jr. lost his life to a distracted driver. Life is full of choices &#8212; what will your choice be?&#8221;</p><p>If Miller&#8217;s emotional presentation weren&#8217;t enough to convince the students &#8212; who are preparing for their May 3 prom &#8212; to not text and drive, the graphic pictures she showed had to have an impact.</p><p>Miller showed pictures of the accident scene &#8212; her son&#8217;s mangled car &#8212; and she told the students that when she went to the morgue to identify her son&#8217;s body, she couldn&#8217;t.</p><p>That was the most emotional moment of the presentation. Imagine having to go to a morgue, unzip a body bag and look inside, only to see the unrecognizable remains of your child?</p><p>Miller said the driver of the truck was charged and sentenced to three years in prison, serving 17 months.</p><p>&#8220;These tragedies are preventable,&#8221; Miller said. &#8220;They are crashes, not accidents.&#8221;</p><p>The program was sponsored by AAA Mid-Atlantic, which recently launched an initiative to reduce deadly distracted driving, citing a poll that showed 90 percent of Pennsylvania drivers believe distracted driving is as dangerous as drunk driving.</p><p>AAA Mid-Atlantic provided some eye-opening statistics:</p><p>&#8226; According to PennDOT crash statistics, a distracted driver was the contributing cause of more than 15,600 crashes in Pennsylvania in 2017 &#8212; 6,500 more than a drunk driver.</p><p>&#8226; Between 2014 and 2018, the State of Pennsylvania saw a 118 percent increase in the number of distracted driving citations issued.</p><p>&#8226; Between 2014 and 2018, the Wilkes-Barre region saw a triple-digit increase in the number of distracted driving citations issued &#8212; Luzerne County was up 165 percent.</p><p>&#8226; Between 2014 and 2018, the Wilkes-Barre region saw a triple-digit increase in the number of distracted driving citations issued &#8212; Luzerne County was up 165 percent</p><p>The AAA poll also finds:</p><p>&#8226; 77 percent of PA drivers say they see more drivers distracted by their electronic devices than two years ago.</p><p>&#8226; 92 percent of PA drivers say they are concerned about their safety due to drivers distracted by their electronics.</p><p>&#8226; 79 percent of PA drivers say it is never okay to email, text or use social media while driving.</p><p>&#8226; 75 percent of PA drivers would support a law in Pennsylvania banning hand-held cellphone use while driving.</p><p>The point is, given all these alarming statistics and after hearing Mrs. Miller&#8217;s impassioned plea to the students, why would anyone text and drive?</p><p>I don&#8217;t know, but they do. </p><p>The old belief is that it won&#8217;t happen to me or my loved ones, but that is just so wrong.</p><p>Paul Miller Jr. was a good kid by all accounts. He had just graduated college. He went to a party and acted responsibly &#8212; he decided to stay overnight at the host&#8217;s residence and drive home the next morning. Like his mom said, Paul did everything right.</p><p>But the driver of that truck didn&#8217;t. He felt he needed his cell phone. And in a second, Paul Miller Jr. was dead, 12 passengers in a van behind him were injured and the driver went to jail.</p><p>Nobody wants their loved one to end up in a body bag &#8212; and nobody wants to unzip one to identify their loved one&#8217;s remains.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Bill O&#8217;Boyle </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Columnshot-1-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Bill O&#8217;Boyle </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Miller-photos.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Eileen Miller showed these photos at Greater Nanticoke Area High School last Tuesday. They show her son, Paul Jr., who was killed when a distracted driver drove his tractor-trailer into Paul&#8217;s car, and the aftermath of the crash. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Miller-photos.jpg</photo1><caption1>Eileen Miller showed these photos at Greater Nanticoke Area High School last Tuesday. They show her son, Paul Jr., who was killed when a distracted driver drove his tractor-trailer into Paul&#8217;s car, and the aftermath of the crash. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle, or email boboyle@www.timesleader.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Beyond the Byline: Never text and drive, period