CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — Seventeen-year-old Kelli Baker had a bright future ahead of her. She was kind caring, and loved taking care of her horses.
Her life was cut short on an early morning in October 2011.
Kelli was driving her normal school route when her vehicle skidded off the road.
"She couldn't get back on until she hit a driveway," Sharon Baker, Kelli's mom, said. "That put her back up on the road and the back end went into a skid. It took her into the next yard where she slid and hit a tree."
Kelli's parents said road conditions and Kelli's inexperience as a driver were factors in the crash. They believe she might still be here had she known what to do.
"At least she might have had a clue," Sharon said. "Instead of complete panic, in the dark, what the heck is happening to me?"
That pushed the couple to create Kelli's Crusade, an organization aiming to better educate teen drivers on road conditions and scenarios.
Driving instructor and crusade member Drew Salyer is the one teaching those skills. He said stories like Kelli's are, unfortunately, very common. But, the course he and the Drive Team have designed should better prepare drivers for any scenario.
Students get behind the wheel of a computer-operated skid car. Instructors will choose between three skidding scenarios, with students using their newfound knowledge to drive themselves to safety.
It allows teens to really feel what skidding is like and build confidence behind the wheel.
"It just like building any skill," Salyer said. "When something happens, I'm going to do that. It's fight or flight. If I don't have the skill set to do that, I'm going to panic. If I have the skill set and I'm going to develop that, I am more likely to do the right thing."
The Bakers said it still hurts to hear about other young lives being lost to avoidable accidents. It's why they encourage teens and their parents to take driving courses seriously.
"This is just as important as baseball practice, soccer practice, anything your kids are involved in," Sharon said. "This could save their life."
To learn more about Kelli's Crusade's other safety efforts, CLICK HERE..
