Senator Gallivan Teams Up WITH Monroe County Sheriff's Office to Present Distracted Driving Program to Rush-Henrietta High School Students

Rush-Henrietta High School Senior Tori Mangino and National Advocate Wil Craig Honored with New York State Senate Proclamations.

Henrietta, NY – As part of AT&T’s national “Txtng & Drivng…It Can Wait” campaign to educate young adults about the dangers of distracted driving, Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (59th District), Monroe County Sheriff Deputies and national transportation safety advocate William Craig presented a special version of AT&T’s documentary “The Last Text” to students at Rush-Henrietta High School in Henrietta, New York. The program is one of many that have occurred around the state and across the country to raise awareness about the risks of texting while driving by encouraging all wireless consumers, especially youth, that text messages can – and should – wait until after driving.

Rush-Henrietta High School students were shown a powerful video edited by one of their classmates, senior Victoria “Tori” Mangino. Tori has chosen to bring awareness to the dangers of distracted driving as part of her Girl Scouts of the USA Gold Award project, using content from AT&T’s original documentary “The Last Text” to relate the inspirational story of William “Wil” Craig to her peers and the Monroe County community. Wil was a passenger in a motor vehicle accident caused by distracted driving that left him with a collapsed lung, broken ribs and sever brain injuries. Doctors gave Wil a four percent chance of survival and informed him that it was unlikely he would ever walk or talk again. Through personal perseverance, Wil would recover many of his faculties and go on to graduate high school and now attends college.

“Distracted driving dramatically increases risk on our roadways, and in this age of quick information and instant accessibility, texting poses a real hazard for teenage as well as adult drivers,” said Senator Gallivan. “New laws can only do so much. Real results come from committed individuals like Wil and Tori, and every student at Rush-Henrietta who has decided to lead by example and take the pledge not to text and drive.”

Following the program, every student was presented with the opportunity to sign the AT&T “Txtng & Drivng…It Can Wait” pledge not to text and drive. Senator Gallivan also used the occasion to present both Wil Craig and Tory Mangino with official New York State Senate proclamations recognizing their positive contributions to the State of New York.

AT&T’s national campaign film “The Last Text” features true stories about text messages that were sent or received before someone’s life was altered, or even ended, because of texting and driving. By featuring the real stories, the campaign demonstrates how insignificant a text message is compared to the potentially dire consequences of reading or responding while driving.

AT&T’s national “It Can Wait” campaign launched in March 2010, and to date, more than 21,600 consumers have taken the pledge not to text and drive on AT&T’s Facebook page, in addition to more than 16,700 AT&T employees through its internal social media channel. For more information on the “It Can Wait” campaign, visit the campaign’s website.