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Father's mission is to end distracted driving

The Pendleton family hopes their story inspires people to make the right choice the next time they get behind the wheel.

MINNEAPOLIS — On August 1 drivers in Minnesota will not be allowed to drive with a phone in hand. The goal is to help end distracted driving.

One Minnesota father, King Demetrius Pendleton, knows the high stakes of distracted driving. He says a drunk driver killed his daughter, Brandy Ann Banks-Sutta, but believes distracted driving takes on many forms.  

Pendleton and his children still keep a tribute in honor of Brandy pristine. It lives at the corner of Highway 55 and Morgan where she was killed.

“We want people to be reminded when they come down this busy intersection,” he said. “This corner represents a tragedy that happened November 3, 2013. Our daughter, Brandy Ann Banks-Sutta,  was tragically killed and her friend, Melvin Jones, was sitting at the stop light. Nobody knows about the sleepless nights the family has endured through this gut-wrenching process.”

Minnesota's hands-free cellphone driving law starts next week. The Pendleton family says it can't kick in soon enough. Even for the ones too young to drive.

“If you know what you are doing is wrong you should stop. Things like that to me don't make any sense,” Da’Mecca Pendleton said. “When you are driving you have to be really focused on if it is a green light or if you have to stop.”

Da’Mecca Pendleton was was six when her sister was killed. She vows to never text and drive.

“The way it impacted me I know better than to do things like that,” she said. “We were family, but she was more like a best friend more than anything. I miss her.

The Pendleton family hopes their story inspires people to make the right choice the next time they get behind the wheel.

“You can choose one of these things to do. Text drive or drink. When you mix them up, people get killed,” King Demetrius Pendleton said.

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