Kim Schlau is living any parent’s nightmare. The day after Thanksgiving in 2007 she learned that two of her daughters were killed in horrific crash on Interstate 64. Schlau tells me that not a day goes by that she does not think about Jessica and Kelly. Schlau says she’s trying to focus her attention on positive things like holding benefits in her daughter’s names; most recently she hosted a blood drive in their name on Tuesday in Collinsville.
Illinois State Trooper Matt Mitchell is awaiting trial for allegedly for Jessica and Kelly Uhl’s death.
In the month since their deaths, Schlau is also using her time to champion two causes: Focus Driven and Pursuit Safety. Focus Driven is a group founded by people who have lost their loved ones because of the use of cell phones in cars. The group’s goal is to increase awareness about the dangers of talking or texting etc. on a phone while driving. It is under investigation whether or not Mitchell was on the phone at the time of the accident. An ISP report following the crash indicated that he was driving 126 at the time of the crash. The purpose of Pursuit Safety is to attempt to persuade law makers to adopt rules defining when a pursuit is necessary. The group’s website mentions that typically innocent bystanders are the ones who end up dying or injured following a police pursuit.
You’ll hear from Kim Schlau herself tonight at ten.
http://www.pursuitsafety.org/about/index.html
http://www.focusdriven.org/index.aspx
Erica Byfield
Reporter
