CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Five local teens who believed they were being interviewed about distracted driving habits for an NBC Charlotte segment learned the about the consequences the hard way after a surprise guest entered the conversation.
With North Carolina legislators proposing a hands free bill this week, NBC Charlotte gathered a group of five driving-age teenagers from North and South Carolina to have an honest discussion about distracted driving.
"By a show of hands, who has checked their phone behind the wheel of a car?" NBC Charlotte's Savannah Levins asked the group.
Each one raised their hand.
"Once your phone alerts, it's like a sudden rush of anxiety to check it," 17-year-old Britney Dockery said.
16-year-old Jadyn Allred agreed
“It's like a drug, it's very hard to stop doing it,” Allred said.
The teens said they are generally confident about their ability to 'multitask.'
"It's just like the cockiness of, 'Oh, I already know how to drive. I know what I'm doing, let me check my phone real quick, I've got this," Dockery said.
Citing peer pressure, accessibility, and lack of enforcement, each teen admitted the temptation to use their cell phones behind the wheel is often overwhelming.
"You think, what’s the likelihood anyone’s going to pull me over for pulling my phone out?" Dockery said.
In that moment, NBC Charlotte brought a surprise guest in to the conversation to show the teens what the consequences really look like.
Leigh Mingus lost her 19-year-old daughter McKinsey Pleasants in a car crash in January 2016.
Leigh walked in and sat down across from the teens, clutching a photo of her angel.
“This is my daughter McKinsey," Leigh told the group. "She was my only daughter, my best friend.”
McKinsey was in the passenger seat of a car that veered into oncoming traffic. The driver of the car was reportedly texting.
McKinsey's best friend Karissa Preslar joined the conversation, too.
“I go sit at her grave and eat dinner with her sometimes, because that’s all I’m ever going to get is a grave," Preslar told the teens. "I don’t ever get to hear her voice again. Because of a text.”
Preslar told the group how it felt to have her best friend taken away from her.
“Seeing my best friend in a casket was probably the worst thing I’ve ever been through," she said.
The teens who had just admitted to texting and driving then passed around photos of McKinsey – tears filling their eyes.
"Ya’ll have to speak up if you’re in the car with someone who’s doing this because if you don’t, it could be you next," Leigh pressed the teens.
“For y'all to be able to come here and share this so strongly is really inspiring," 16-year-old Alissa Thomas told her. "It makes me understand the hurt you’re going through, and the effects texting and driving and being distracted has on everybody’s life.”
NBC Charlotte's Savannah Levins asked the teens if their perceptions had changed.
All responded "yes."
“One thing I’ve really taken from this is life is priceless," Thomas said. "One moment can really change everything and determine everything."
18-year-old Carter Maner echoed the sentiment.
“It’s really changed my perspective on it," Maner said. "Hopefully this whole thing brings a light to it.”
Five young minds now changed. And for those who loved McKinsey Pleasants, that’s a start.
“Kinsey didn’t have a chance to make a difference in the world," Karissa said. "This is us trying to make a difference for her.”
Texting and driving is already illegal in the Carolinas. The hands free bill proposed in North Carolina would make it illegal to even touch your phone behind the wheel.