I was heartbroken when I received a call last year from one of supporters, Mary Campeau, who shared that her husband Ron, an avid cyclist, was killed by a distracted driver in Naples. She and Ron spent season in Naples for years. They shared a love of travel, hiking and biking. When visiting Naples, Ron had a goal to bike the distance between Naples and his home in Canada during each visit. To help get those miles in, he often attended our rides. He met that goal every year until someone engrossed in his phone behind the wheel took his life and changed Mary’s forever.
That reckless driver didn’t hear surrounding cars blaring their horns as their drivers could see the deadly trajectory of the vehicle that ran over this beloved father, husband, grandfather, and friend to so many. Mary was appalled to realize how useless Florida’s distracted driving laws are, especially compared to those in Canada and other states and countries where they traveled for their hiking and biking adventures.
Because Ron participated in several of our fundraising events, she and Ron were familiar with our mission to improve safety for people who walk, bike, and run. During our call, I shared with Mary about our work to end distracted driving through our Hands-Free Florida campaign. So she asked me to attend the sentencing of the distracted driver. We were infuriated that the man who killed Ron would only pay a $1,000 fine. Although no fine or prison sentence would bring him back, this minimal penalty was the ultimate insult to his devastated family.
“The case was dealt with in traffic court. The phone was never confiscated and thus no reason was ever found for what happened,” said Mary. “I don’t feel we got any kind of justice. We have to live the rest of our lives without Ron.”
Mary believes with stricter laws about distracted driving, more awareness about how best to share the road, and safer pathways tragedies like Ron’s can be prevented.
Since Ron’s untimely passing, Naples Pathways has made great progress over the last year on our initiatives including:
- Unanimous votes in favor of hands-free cell phone use legislation in three House committees in the 2024 legislative session.
- Fit more than 600 adults and children with helmets in partnership with Blue Zones Project and Bikes for Tykes.
- Started the PD&E Study for the northern portion of the Paradise Coast Trail – Livingston Road corridor from Radio Road to Bonita Springs.
- Started the PD&E Study for the entire Collier to Polk Trail, beginning in Collier County and covering the entire eastern portion of the Paradise Coast Trail.
We couldn’t accomplish this progress without the support of our members and donors, but we know more needs to be done. Based on preliminary year-end crash data from the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in Collier County there have been 5,741 crashes so far in 2024 – 2,301 resulted in injury and 55 people just like Ron lost their lives. As we end 2024, please consider making a year-end gift so we can advocate for those killed by distracted driving and save lives into 2025 and beyond.
