METRO And Kailee Mills Foundation Launch Safety Partnership

HOUSTON, TX — A family who endured the unthinkable tragedy of losing their 16-year-old daughter in a tragic car accident in October has partnered with Houston METRO to raise awareness about seat belt use and safe driving for teens and young adults.

David and Wendy Mills were at the METRO Cypress Park and Ride at U.S. 290 and Skinner Road before the sun rose on Monday.

With the help of friends, they set up a folding table to hold pamphlets and stickers promoting the Kailee Mills Foundation and the importance of seat belt safety.

Kaitlyn Winston, 13, who was among the friends and volunteers at the Park and Ride station, knew Kailee Mills through little league baseball where their brothers both played on the same team.

"I hope to spread the word (about seat belt safety) and help save other people's lives," Winston said.

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Kailee Mills was a 16-year-old Klein Collins High School student and aspiring Texas A&M Aggie, boasting a 4.3 GPA, who loved volunteering and hanging out with her friends.

RELATED: METRO And Kailee Mills Foundation Announce Partnership

On Oct. 28, 2017, she was on her way to a Halloween party with some of her friends, and was riding in the backseat of the car, when she unbuckled her seat belt and slid over to take a selfie with a friend who was in the backseat with her.

In that same instant, the car suddenly veered off the roadway and rolled.

Mills was ejected from the car and died of her injuries, less than a mile from her home.

The unimaginable pain of losing a child became the catalyst for the Kailee Mills Foundation.

"It's a struggle every day for us, and sometimes it's easier to talk about it than other days," Wendy Mills said.

The Mills' son was deeply affected by the tragedy of losing his sister, to the point he won't ride the school bus because there are not safety belts, his father David said.

However, he does share the importance of wearing seat belts with is friends, Wendy Mills said.

Now, the family wants to cast a wider net on the importance of seat belt use and that's what the Kailee Mills Foundation is all about.

In March, David Mills met with METRO President and CEO Tom Lambert to discuss the partnership, allowing the foundation to hand out information at various METRO Park and Ride locations in the Houston area, and putting METRO's voice behind the safety campaign.

On Monday morning, METRO and the Kailee Mills Foundation held a press conference at the South Fannin METRO Station to officially announce their partnership.

"In our community, with so many different modes of transportation, we all bear a responsibility of improving safety along our roads," Lambert said. "We are very honored to partner with the Kailee mills Foundation and help support their efforts to raise teen driving and elder driving safety awareness, and seat belt usage."

METRO Police Chief Vera Bumpers said the safety of drivers and passengers remains a top priority of METRO, and this new partnership with the Kailee Mills Foundation helps reinforce that priority.

Bumpers said METRO has placed #BuckleUp4Kailee stickers more than 100 METRO vehicles to help spread the safety message.

"No parent should ever experience the loss of a child," Bumpers said. "I commend both David and Wendy Mills of turning the tragedy of losing their daughter into a positive meaningful action that will help others."

Image: Bryan Kirk/Houston Area Patch Field Editor

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