On May 18, 2008, Jacy Good and her parents attended her graduation ceremony at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Jacy had landed her dream job through AmeriCorps as a team leader for Habitat For Humanity and was excited about the future. On the way home from graduation, a young driver talking on his cell phone ran a red light, causing a tractor-trailer to swerve and crash into the Goods’ vehicle. Jacy was critically injured, and both of her parents, Jean and Jay Good, were killed instantly.
Jacy underwent 9 hours of surgery and was given only a 10% chance of surviving. She spent months in the hospital and rehabilitation and had to learn to walk and talk again. Her body contains numerous titanium rods, plates and screws. Due to a traumatic brain injury, Jacy is unable to use her left arm or lower leg and walks with a cane. She had to learn to do the everyday things in life using only one arm. In addition, she has minor lingering cognitive issues.
Jacy has become a tireless advocate for cell phone free driving. She and her college sweetheart, Steve Johnson, now her husband, established the organization, Hang Up and Drive. Jacy has spoken to over 100,000 people in 29 states since 2011. She has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, as a guest of Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at the United Nations and in People Magazine, as a “Hero Among Us”.
Jacy is also part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Faces of Distracted Driving” series. View the video below.
