A foundation created by the father of Abbie DeLoach, one of the five Georgia Southern nursing students who lost their lives in an April 22, 2015 crash on I-16 in North Bryan, is working to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving.

“It takes a continuous and conscious effort to do the right thing when behind the wheel,” said Jimmy DeLoach Jr., Abbie’s father and president of the Abbie DeLoach Foundation. “The pace of travel has picked up as the pandemic has waned, which means more people are on the roads — and more will be tempted to be distracted as they drive. Our goal is for every driver to make a commitment to safe driving to help save lives so that no parent, relative, friend or colleague will get a call about a tragic accident that stops their world.”

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Abbie DeLoach Foundation is encouraging businesses, community partners, individuals and students to join its #HandsFreeForAbbie campaign by visiting the HandsFreeForAbbie.com website and taking the pledge.