04/24/2026
April is now officially Distracted Driving Awareness Month in Arkansas 🚘
Thank you to State Representative Ashley Hudson and State Senator Ricky Hill for your bipartisan efforts to get Ashton & Abbie’s Law signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Together, we are making the roads safer for Arkansans.
This week I joined Lily Grace Overholser, Miss Greater Little Rock’s Teen, and some of my House colleagues, to mark a proclamation from Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders commemorating April as Distracted Driving Month. After losing her mom to a drunk driver, Lily Grace has become a powerful advocate for safe driving.
In early 2024, Governor Sanders signed Act 445, Ashton and Abbie’s Law. I developed this law to create stronger penalties for distracted drivers who cause serious injury or death.
I was moved to act after a dear friend of our family, Jim Woods, lost his daughter Ashton in 2022 to a distracted driver. Her family was steadfast in their commitment to making sure Ashton could still make a difference, and I was determined to help in any way I could.
As the bill moved through the House and Senate, Senator Ricky Hill reached out about collaborating and shared the story of another family who lost their young daughter, Abbie Cooley, in a distracted driving accident. We chose to honor her memory in the bill's title as well. Her mother, Chandler Sullivan, has also embodied incredible strength and determination to honor Abbie’s memory.
Ashton & Abbie's law strengthens accountability and reflects our shared responsibility to protect lives on our roads. I am grateful to Governor Sanders for acknowledging this important issue, and to my colleagues in the legislature for joining me in this important and ongoing work.
