Tracy O’Carroll spent Wednesday warning students at a Pitt County high school of the dangers of texting, something she has been doing since her daughter, Sarah Edwards, was killed as a result of texting while driving.
This time, her efforts were part of a regional campaign sponsored by Subway restaurants. O’Carroll started helping the restaurant chain with its W8 2 TXT campaign last month after she was contacted via the N.C. Highway Patrol.
O’Carroll said it is never easy to share how distracted driving killed her daughter, a senior at Southside High School at the time of her death, but she has made it her mission to prevent the tragedy from happening again.
“It’s moving a lot faster than I thought it would,” O’Carroll said. “I’m excited just because they thought of me.”
Subway scheduled O’Carroll for appearances in Georgia, South Carolina and throughout North Carolina this month. This week, she will speak in McLeansville, Greenville, Wilmington and Apex.
O’Carroll also has engagements scheduled with the Highway Patrol’s texting and driving campaign. She will be at Southside High School March 20 for a re-enactment of her daughter’s crash.
“She’s a very busy lady. We have a mutual goal of saving lives,” said Debbie Atkins, public relations manager for Subway restaurants.
Atkins met with O’Carroll and heard her W8 2 TXT presentation at Enka High School in Candler. She said O’Carroll’s message is powerful because it is such a personal story.
“She’s a very courageous mother in the face of such a tragedy,” Atkins said.
Subway started its campaign in response to a 2010 wreck that killed the child of a Columbia, S.C., Subway owner. The wreck was the result of texting and driving.