Here & Now: A Mother's Mission

Sarah Sandiford's life was forever changed when her son was killed suddenly in a devastating trucking accident. The driver of the 18-wheeler was distracted. And now this mother's mission is to lead the charge against distracted driving and share how she dealt with her loss. Her story is the here and now conversation with Fox 4's Sean Rapp. I want to introduce you to a young lady whose life work now was born out of an horrific and tragic accident. Sarah Sandiford is with me in the here and now conversation. She is an author. She's written a book, Citizens Pray. She is an advocate against distracted driving and a voice for reform as it relates to driving, especially with the next generation. Thank you for taking time to share your story with me. How did you get to this point in life, Sarah Sandiford? My son passed away January 12, 2023, in a horrific semi-traffic accident. He basically, a semi-truck, was going about 68 miles per hour. We found out later that he was watching TikTok and slammed in the back of my son on not a moving vehicle. He was a passenger. It was a standstill vehicle. They burned for about four hours. That kind of changed my life. No question. What do you tell other parents who find themselves trying to navigate these uncharted emotional waters of life? I think that what you have to realize is time and memories is really all you have in life and nothing else really matters. Tomorrow is never promised. We could be speaking right now and tomorrow we would never be here. It's not promised. Just don't take it for granted and appreciate what you have. I think that's the way I was able to do it. I was able to do it and put it into my journey as making my book of what I have been through, severely been through, going through not just navigating loss and grief. It was navigating litigation at the same time and reliving it for about almost three years. Tell me about how you came to the title of your book that documents, chronicles this journey, Citizens Pray, P-R-E-Y. Tell me how you came to the title. It really healed me as a grieving mom, but it really did make me look at my life and what my mission is in my journey. It's kind of hard when I was being criticized as a mom and criticized as an individual going through all of this grief. I had so many people really praying upon my kindness, my trust, and also praying upon my grief and my loss for their own personal gain. You don't realize that until something happens. It started immediately less than 24 hours after he passed away. You're also now a big voice cautioning about distracted driving. Yes. The laws are very broad. It says don't touch your phone or don't be on your phone, but nobody really takes accountability on social media sites. A lot of people are driving with social media. A lot of them are doing distracted driving, just using that, and there's no accountability. It's an issue with distracted driving and social media. It is a big issue. In your sharing this, it will help other mothers who have lost their children to be it homicide or a tragic car accident. Sarah Standifird, thank you for the book. Thank you for sharing with us here in the Here and Now conversation. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time.