Cool Kid launches campaign against distracted driving

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- This week's Cool Kid has seen the pain and anguish caused by a distracted driver who killed a family friend. So he's focusing on fellow teens to stop young drivers from texting. He has some pretty big plans.

High school student Jon Epstein says when a distracted driver took the life of a family friend, the effect it had on the devastated family stayed with him.

"Just saw what happened to them after, and how they felt losing a child," said Jon. "And I never really wanted that to happen again to anybody. So I thought I needed to do something."

That something turned out to be an organization called LEADD, or Leading Everyone Against Distracted Driving.. Unlike other similarly named groups, this one is about students helping other students.

"I thought it would be cool to make a teen-run organization that basically is teen-to-teen messaging," said Jon.

Jon knows there's a lot to remember when driving . But he feels one thing should really stand out.

"One point would be that even though you don't think it can happen, you can kill somebody by sending a text, and you can even kill yourself by sending a text," said Jon.

Jon's gotten his classmates at Oakwood School involved. But he has plans to include many more.

"We're starting with Los Angeles and we want to spread out and make it huge and have it in every high school in America, and across the world for that matter," said Jon.

Cool Kid Jon Epstein has seen the tragic results of distracted driving. Now his mission is to make people safer behind the wheel.

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volunteerism, cool kids, danny romero

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