Mangled car used to teach a lesson

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) -- A high school student, who nearly lost her life while driving while distracted, is helping to teach her fellow classmates a valuable lesson.

The badly-damaged car that was involved in that crash was placed on the front lawn of South Kingstown High School Thursday, and serves as a reminder to new drivers of the dangers of texting while driving.

"If you look at my daughter's car, that is a result unfortunately of distracted driving, and hopefully there is enough of an impact that people will think twice about picking up their phone, looking at the radio, or any other distracted driving," said the girl's father, Peter Gates.

• Related: Teen Drivers Getting More Careful

As part of a new, nationally-recognized program that teaches young drivers about distracted driving, trial lawyers will be speaking to students throughout the state about