On Sept. 5, 2008, Erica Knell was driving home to Park City when her car strayed off the road. The 17-year-old overcorrected, and her car rolled on Interstate 80.
Knell, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected and killed.
"I wonder every day why she didn't wear her seat belt," Knell's mother, Ellen Knell, told a small audience Tuesday.
The Knells and other grieving families gathered at a Sugar House library to introduce the state's campaign to prevent teen driving deaths. State agencies are publishing the tales of 13 Utah teenagers killed in car accidents last year in a booklet called "Thirteen stories we'd rather not tell 2008."
The booklet is part of Utah's broader "Zero Fatalities" campaign. In all, 29 teenagers died on Utah roads in 2008, according to state statistics. Some were drivers. Others were passengers. Some died because they weren't wearing seat belts. Some died through no fault of their own but because a driver in another car was not paying attention.
Xander Jordan, 18, of Draper, delivered food to Indian reservations as part of an Eagle Scout project and was trying to earn a pilot's license. The story published in the booklet tells how Jordan was texting on his phone just before he lost control of his Ford Mustang.
Jordan's father, Troy Jordan, on Tuesday read aloud one of the last thing's his son wrote in a journal.
"I already dream of great things," Xander Jordan wrote. "Nothing will stop me from getting what I want."
"Thirteen stories we'd rather not tell 2008" will be sent to high school driving classes across Utah. For more information about the campaign and teen driving safety, go to www.dont-drive-stupid.com.
