Free safe-driving classes for ages 16-25 set for Leesburg Library

LEESBURG — Omari Hill was a basketball coach, a musician, a math tutor, a faithful church member, a brother and a son.

On Oct. 16, 2010 — a Friday morning — the 23-year-old man and his dad hugged in the kitchen of their family home in Atlanta.

“I hugged my son in the kitchen on Friday morning and told him I would see him that night. The next morning I saw him at the morgue,” Toni Hill, Omari’s father, says as he begins the story of his loss.

The Malcolm “Omari” Hill Scholarship Fund Inc. was born from that tragedy. Omari and another young man were passengers in the back seat of a friend’s car. Neither was wearing a seat belt, though a front-seat passenger and the driver were buckled up. It was the distraction of a cellphone call that caused the driver to lose control of the wheel and crash.

Both young men in the back seat lost their lives.

“There is a myth that if you are in the back seat, there is no need for a seat belt,” Omari’s mother, Eva Hill, said. “We want to make sure that people know that this is not true.”

The front passenger in the car that fateful Friday survived, as did the driver.

Toni and Eva Hill decided to preserve their youngest son’s memory by establishing the scholarship fund in 2011. In addition to assisting with college expenses, the fund is used to sponsor free instructional driving safety classes.

The website for the scholarship fund includes some sobering statistics, noting that motor vehicle-related injuries are the leading cause of death for those ages 1-34 in the United States. Teens, it says, crash four times more often than any other age group, and car wrecks are the leading killer of teens, daily taking an average of 10 teen lives.

Driver distraction contributes to 16 percent of all fatal crashes for people under the age of 20, the website says.

Partnering with the National Safety Council and public libraries, more than 200 drivers ages 16-25 have taken the classes.

“Most of the money (for the fund) has come from our own pockets,” Toni Hill said.

Hill said he and his wife decided “to commit the rest of our lives to preventing other parents and siblings from experiencing what we went through.”

The fund has now received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, making it easier for the Hills to accept donations and to expand the reach of their program.

On Oct. 22, the instructional safe driving course will be conducted at the Leesburg branch of the Lee County Library, located at 245 Walnut Ave. The classes, the 43rd such session conducted by the Hills, will be an all-day event, lasting from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Included will be a workbook, videos, an instructor and lunch. Subjects will include success on the road, defensive driving, distracted driving and more.

As the day winds down, students will be given an assessment of their newly acquired knowledge. For those who pass the assessment, a certificate will be issued on the spot. Most major and some smaller insurance companies recognize the certificate and may offer reduced rates for young drivers who possess one.

There is no charge to participants for materials, instruction, workbooks, lunch or certificates. Toni and Eva Hill hope to have lunch sponsored and the instructor, Peggy Bish, is on staff at Albany ARC. If there are costs that cannot be covered with donations or sponsorships, the Hills say they will do as they’ve always done — pay for it themselves.

Pre-registration is required, and participants must bring verifiable identification for the purpose of the safe driver certificates.

Go to www.omari-scholarship.org to register and/or make a donation. Registration runs through Oct. 21.