Local students take anti-texting pledge

CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) - Cranston High School East students gathered earlier today to kick off a national anti-texting and driving campaign.

Even though texting at the wheel has been illegal in the Ocean State since 2009, the event is part of a nationwide push to keep teens focused on the road. With over 300 related citations already in the books, state leaders are hoping to curb distracted driving.

Amanda Stevens, a senior at Cranston East, is just one of many of the students that took the pledge today. Stevens was once in a car with a driver that momentarily lost control because of texting.

Now, she is telling passengers to take the phone away from drivers. "If I'm in the car with somebody and they're [texting], I take their phone and say 'I'll do it for you'," she told Eyewitness News.

State Police Officers attended the event to discuss the potentially deadly results, having seen victims first-hand. According to Major David Tikoian, "one motorist suffered substantial injuries and had to be airlifted. [The victim's] cell phone was found on the front seat, mid-way through a text."

Officials are encouraged by the turnout today, as they witnessed student after student signing the pledge boards.