The summer after graduating from high school, my son Anthony worked for a charter bus company. He and the driver made the 31-hour trip from Tallahassee to Salt Lake City to pick up some clients. On the way, the bus driver inadvertently flicked a switch that dumped all the human waste from the restroom into the compartment under the bus.
They discovered his mistake as soon as they arrived. While the driver stood with his hands on his head, gagging and trying to figure out what to do about that awful smell, Anthony found some rubber gloves, paper towels and Windex and started on the cleanup while singing Willie Nelson songs.
“Sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to doodoo,” Anthony told the driver.
That was classic Anthony, one of several stories told about him at his funeral in November 2014 after he was killed by a distracted driver 16 months later.
That's the kind of person I want to be. I want to be someone who can do sh*tty stuff with joy and a song.
Anthony is inspiring me from his grave.
I’m trying my best, because I’m doing some sh*tty stuff right now. Since Anthony died, I’ve been telling people about how my best friend, then only 19 years old, was killed when the driver behind him decided what was on his phone was more important than the young man on a motorcycle ahead. It hasn’t been easy.
In the last few months, I have traveled more than 6,500 miles from Pensacola to Fort Lauderdale to lobby for stricter driving laws in Florida. My mission for the past decade has been driving change for safer Florida streets. I was at the University of Florida March 29 to speak at the Swamp Safety Conference organized by the Nightlife Navigators, a student government agency.
Anthony loved Bruce Lee and old kung fu movies.
He wanted to learn Wing Chun Kung Fu, but when he found out how much the lessons cost — $80 each — he realized he would need to get creative.
His friend’s dad was a fourth-degree karate black belt and Golden Gloves champion. So, Anthony invited Carl to our house to teach him and a few friends karate on Sunday mornings on our back porch, pre-Cobra Kai.
In my travels, I have spoken to many people whose family members have also been killed by distracted drivers. It’s difficult to explain how devastating it is to lose a loved one in such a preventable way.
That’s right. Anthony’s crash should never have happened.
When people drive distracted, it is no accident when they hit something or someone. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says texting while driving increases the chances of crashing by 23 times. Drivers aged 18 to 34 are more likely to die in distracted-affected crashes than any other age group.
When Anthony played ultimate frisbee with his friends, he would bring his brother Isaac along, even though he was 10 years younger. Isaac was thrilled Anthony included his little brother while hanging out with his college friends. The two were inseparable.
To address the widespread societal problem of distracted driving, my goal is to persuade legislators to pass a hands-free law that prohibits Floridians from holding a phone while driving.
Thirty-one other states and the District of Columbia have hands-free laws, which prohibit phones from being used in a hand-held manner while driving. Statistics show states passing hands-free laws see an immediate reduction in the number of crashes and fatalities, according to Cambridge Mobile Telematics.
So far, 10 counties, eight cities and four towns have adopted resolutions supporting hands-free legislation. Lake and St. Lucie counties are scheduled to vote on Tuesday. If both adopt the resolution, more than 7.5 million Floridians — along with the insurance industry and state law enforcement — will have demonstrated their support for this change.
Yet, a handful of Florida state legislators still oppose it.
Christopher, Anthony’s youngest brother, was about 5 when he was photographed sitting on Anthony’s lap. Christopher, like Isaac, was crazy about his big brother. In the photo, they’re both smiling and looking at the camera while Christopher plays with some glow sticks. Anthony is wearing a red bandana, one of his favorite clothing accessories.
For weeks after Anthony’s death, Christopher carried the framed 16x20 photo everywhere he went.
The current Florida law prohibits drivers from texting and driving, but nothing else. Technically, a driver can legally watch a Hollywood movie while on I-75. A May 2023 report from WFTS ABC Action News in Tampa Bay showed statewide data indicating Florida law enforcement rarely issues citations to drivers for distracted driving.
“This is what we call a clunky law,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd was quoted as saying in the story. “I think it’s not worth the mammary glands on a boar hog. It’s useless.”
Every year lawmakers refuse to address this problem, Floridians will die unnecessarily.
My life, and the lives of our family, have been forever shattered by someone else’s irresponsible choice to use his phone while driving.
However, I refuse to let Anthony’s memory die. I have adopted his bandana, the symbol of struggle, channeled his positive, never-say-die attitude and I will continue to do the sh*tty things with as much joy as I can muster to help prevent other Floridians from experiencing such life-altering loss.
Because sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to doodoo.
Demetrius Branca founded the Anthony Phoenix Branca Foundation in memory of his son.
