NJ woman finishing late dad's bucket list to raise awareness about distracted driving

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - Texting while driving could make a crash up to 23 times more likely. But even other distractions are dangerous. Stopping them can save thousands of lives.

Laura Carney, of Montclair, New Jersey, lost her father in a distracted-driving crash. Now she is on a mission to help make Americans aware of this problem and what can be done. Carney is doing more than talking about it. She is writing about it.

In 2003, a 17-year-old girl was talking on her phone while driving and went through a red light, crashing into Laura's father's car. Laura says her father died instantly. He was 54. Laura was 25.

Last year, the same year that she and her brother both got married, they discovered a bucket list their father had written when he was 29. It included 60 things he wanted to accomplish in his lifetime. Sadly, he was able to complete only five.

So now Laura and her brother are finishing their father's bucket list for him. Laura says talking to the president, having a great record collection, growing a watermelon, sailing a boat by himself, traveling to Paris and New Orleans, and running 10 miles are all on the list. Laura checked off that last one by running the Los Angeles Marathon.

Laura works at Good Housekeeping magazine and wrote an article sharing her personal story. She is also an advocate. She says that making the public aware of the dangers of distracted driving is one final gift she can give her dad.

You can read about her journey to complete the list at myfatherslist.com.