Read the Episode Transcript
| 00:04 | ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Wish you had a lawyer in the family? Now you do. Here’s your host, Veronica Waters.
VERONICA: Welcome, welcome, one and all to the house, Lawyers in the House on WSB with Veronica Waters, me, your host, and two very special guests joining us today. I’m so happy that you’re with us. |
| 00:30 | VERONICA: I really believe that you’re going to come away from this show feeling warm and fuzzy and maybe thinking about how you can make the world a better place. The author, Neil Gaiman, wrote, “It may help to understand human affairs to be clear that most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people. |
| 00:56 | VERONICA: For National Teen Driver Safety Week, we’re turning the spotlight on one little person, a nine-year-old girl, on her, her life, her family, and the way that tragedy can not just become a triumph, but a transformation. And we’ve got two very special guests in the studio with me today.
VERONICA: Let’s start off with some introductions, with a face that you know and love and remember well. |
| 01:20 | VERONICA: Say good morning and hello and good afternoon to Jenny Harty, who is the director of iRideSafe™ at Montlick, one of Montlick Injury Attorney’s many community service and public safety programs. Jenny, tell us a little bit about iRideSafe™ and its mission.
JENNY: Thanks for having us back. iRideSafe™ is a very near and dear and important program to Montlick. |
| 01:46 | JENNY: It is our public service program that has a whole focus on keeping families and kids safe on the roads. And in the website, iRideSafe.com, it is chuck full of videos and guides and everything that caregivers and families can find in how to keep their children safe in car seats and booster seats and teen drivers and even adults on how to keep them safe on the roads. |
| 02:20 | VERONICA: Yes. And tell us a little bit… just remind everyone about your journey. I always like to… as we talk about turning near tragedies even into triumphs, a very personal thing led you to Montlick and to your own sort of transformation in the state of Georgia.
JENNY: Yes. So our family was involved in a car crash 20 years ago and it was in a tiny little rural road in South Georgia, and it was involving with a logging truck. |
| 02:56 | JENNY: Our crash was actually classified as a hit and run because they never found the logging truck after the crash. And our youngest daughter, Madison, took the brunt of the impact. But fortunately, both of our girls were riding in booster seats. At the time, a $15 booster seat saved our daughter’s life. But at the time, Georgia did not have a booster seat law on the books. |
| 03:24 | JENNY: And had we been following the law at the time, in all likelihood, from all that the experts and the physicians told us, Madison probably would not have survived our car crash. And once I learned that and we kind of got Madison put back together again, I felt led that I needed to make a difference and I needed to do what I could to protect other children and other families. |
| 03:53 | JENNY: And I worked down at the state capitol to push for what now is dubbed Madison’s Booster Seat Law and passed the law so that Georgia’s children are protected. And we did it in a couple of different stages, but now the law protects children up until the age of eight to be required to ride in a booster seat.
VERONICA: I love that. And I remember the very first time that I met Jenny, I was sort of wowed to actually be meeting the person who was the mom behind the Madison of Madison’s Booster Seat Law. |
| 04:27 | VERONICA: Because as a journalist, I had reported on it, but I didn’t know anything about, you know, you and your story. And I just remember looking up at her because she’s like six feet tall and thinking, oh my gosh, you know, this is like a, you know, I always like to say not all heroes wear capes. So kudos to you.
JENNY: Thank you. VERONICA: And sitting next to Jenny and in the house with us today is a new guest to the show. But if you are… you know, if you’ve got your ear to the ground about children, teen safety and distracted driving, you may already know her as well. |
| 04:58 | VERONICA: Her name is Natalie Bacho, and she’s a good friend of Jenny Harty. She’s someone I’ve met and have come to admire greatly. She’s a mother. She’s an activist. She’s a warrior and a visionary. Natalie, tell me a little bit about you.
NATALIE: Well, thank you, first of all, for this honor of being here and sharing this time with you all this morning. I grew up in West Virginia originally. |
| 05:28 | NATALIE: My husband and I moved here. We lived in Savannah for a few years, New Mexico, and then moved back to Georgia in 2005. And we always, you know, kid that we’re not going to move or live anywhere else because we had a child in every city that we lived in. So we were finished when we moved back here. But I’m a registered nurse. I used to be a surgical nurse in Savannah and stopped working when our oldest daughter was one so I could be there for them and raise them. |
| 05:57 | NATALIE: And thankfully, we were able to achieve that. And we have three daughters. Our oldest is now 22 and working at Emory University in the Winship Cancer Center. And our youngest daughter, Charlotte, is 16 and a junior at East Coweta High School. And Abby would have turned 20 this past July 22nd. |
| 06:26 | VERONICA: We’re talking about Teen Driver Safety Week. And the nine-year-old girl that we’re talking about today is Abby. She’s Natalie’s daughter. And we’re going to talk about how her life and her loss have helped transform many people’s lives. Thank you so much, Natalie, for being here to tell your story. Thank you so much, Jenny. Thank you both for being in the house with us. We’re with Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB. |
| 06:54 | VERONICA: And I think the first thing that we should do is put the spotlight on Abby and you and her family. Tell us your story. Tell us Abby’s story.
NATALIE: How much time do you have? When I’m asked that, especially when someone asks to tell a little bit about Abby. Like if you have children, you know that that middle child is, you know, just a little bit different. |
| 07:22 | NATALIE: And she just loved deeply and lived deeply. And she was always full of excitement, always loved to be around people and bring people together. And when you first met her, she was a little bit reserved, but when she got to know you and she felt comfortable, her full personality came out blaring. And she always… I kid and say, you know, she never walked into a room. She danced into a room. |
| 07:51 | NATALIE: She twirled into a room. And when I speak with different groups and I describe Abby, I always say she was our child that made us constantly question our ability to parent because she was a very strong-willed child. And it was, you know, usually her way or the highway. And she could be challenging, but I think that was just her personality and her spirit that she just felt so much and just felt so much for other people. |
| 08:24 | NATALIE: And so we were beginning to celebrate the Christmas holiday, December 2012. And we all know how very busy that time of year is, and the lists are long, and we’re running a mile a minute. But that Saturday before Christmas, December 22nd, we just took some time as a family to just spend the day together before the big rush came. |
| 08:51 | NATALIE: And we took the girls roller skating, and we went to Mass that evening, which I’m so looking back, I’m so grateful that we did go to church that evening. And then we went to eat at one of our very favorite places in downtown Newnan called the Redneck Gourmet, which has the best fries you’ll ever have. And that was one of the favorite things that Abby always got. And then we were just going to go drive through a neighborhood like a lot of families do that time of year and look at Christmas lights and listen to Christmas music on the radio. |
| 09:25 | NATALIE: And I decided to drive because I knew the area a little bit better than my husband did, which was very unusual. Normally, he would be the one driving. But we set off towards the neighborhood. We were less than a mile from our house at an intersection that we go through all of the time. And we had the green light. And within just seconds of entering the intersection, an 18-year-old who was distracted in a series of phone calls T-boned our minivan. |
| 10:01 | VERONICA: That was, I know, a shock, and your husband Steve was very badly hurt, but managed to recover. However, as we sit here today, it’s been more than a decade since your family has been without Abby. And she was taken off life support on Christmas morning of 2012?
NATALIE: Christmas morning and gave life to four people that day, two being children through organ donation. |
| 10:33 | VERONICA: So her spirit lives on. Her heart’s beating in someone else’s chest. And she has been someone who gave even after death, right? We’re going to talk about the legacy of Abby Bacho and how Natalie has helped turn her memory into triumph and into transformation. And how did we get here, to this transformed moment? That’s coming up straight ahead on Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB. |
| 11:10 | You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Join us 8:00 a.m. every Sunday if you want to listen live on 95.5 WSB.
VERONICA: Welcome back to Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB. I’m Veronica Waters here with special guests, Jenny Harty, Director of iRideSafe™ with Montlick Injury Attorneys and Natalie Bacho, the president of the Abby’s Angels Foundation. |
| 11:34 | VERONICA: We are talking about the life and death and transformation that Abby’s life, Natalie’s daughter, brings to the state of Georgia and to people beyond our state lines after tragedy became triumph. Tell me a little bit about how you two met. You were dealing for a while with the aftermath of that horrific crash, Natalie. |
| 12:02 | NATALIE: Yes. My husband, his injuries… he was in a medically induced coma for six weeks and took, you know, a great deal of time to recover after that. But thankfully, he’s a walking miracle. No one would know he was in the condition that he was in if you saw him today. And then also we had all of the legal proceedings after with the driver. |
| 12:27 | NATALIE: He was 18. And the way Georgia Law is written, he was charged with a misdemeanor and only had work release, was what his sentencing was. So, he would work during the day and then go to the jail at night. So, we just… there was, there was a lot, yes. |
| 12:53 | VERONICA: After slamming into your car, killing your daughter, critically injuring your husband, he was cited with a misdemeanor citation.
NATALIE: Yes. VERONICA: What happened with him later? I know that you followed his case for a while. NATALIE: We did. We went to his sentencing and just shared with him that, you know, about Abby and how we hoped that this tragedy that happened in his life also… that would change the course of his life and his decisions moving forward. |
| 13:27 | NATALIE: And we gave him one of our Abby’s Angels bracelets. But unfortunately, two years later, he was also involved in an alcohol-influenced wreck and killed his girlfriend.
VERONICA: Natalie Bacho and Jenny Harty, I know that you met under the gold dome here in Georgia, right? JENNY: We did. We did. As Natalie said, you know their crash was 100% preventable. |
| 13:55 | JENNY: That 18-year-old did not need and should not have been using his phone when he was driving, which was what led us both to the gold dome to help push for the hands-free Georgia law in 2018. And Natalie, along with many other families who suffered the worst, you know, loss of a loved one due to a distracted driver is what led us to meet one another. |
| 14:25 | JENNY: And that’s, you know, what caused us to meet and have our relationship and to push and to have the success of the hands-free Georgia law.
VERONICA: Two warrior activist moms here on Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Coming up, we’ll talk about the hands-free law here in Georgia and Abby’s Angels. Stay with us. You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Join us 8:00 a.m. every Sunday on 95.5 WSB. |
| 14:53 | VERONICA: Welcome back to the House. Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB. I’m Veronica Waters here with two very special guests. Jenny Harty, the director of iRideSafe™ with Montlick, one of the firm’s many community service programs. And Natalie Bacho, who’s the president of Abby’s Angels Foundation, and telling us a little bit about her daughter’s life and death. |
| 15:21 | VERONICA: The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration says in 2012 there were 3,328 people killed and an estimated 421,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. One of those killed in 2012 was nine-year-old Abby Bacho. And we’re talking today about how Jenny and Natalie became friends under the gold dome, both moms on a mission. |
| 15:48 | VERONICA: Now, if you missed any of the beautiful moments that we had in the first half of the show, remember that you can find us on all platforms social @MontlickLaw. And look for us on your favorite podcast platform. Just subscribe to Lawyers in the House, and you can hear every new episode as soon as it comes out. It’ll hit your inbox. Natalie and Jenny, tell me about that journey to the hands-free law and how you two worked together and became such friends out there, lobbying lawmakers under the gold dome. |
| 16:19 | NATALIE: Well, I’m a firm believer that people are put in your paths for a reason. And Jenny definitely and the other families and everyone that worked on it. But Jenny, we’ve been able to keep in touch over the past five years or so. And just, you know, she is… I consider her a very good friend.
JENNY: Absolutely. NATALIE: She’s a light, light in my life. And we’ve had the opportunity to work together to continue this fight over the next, you know, next couple of years after the hands-free law passed. |
| 16:51 | VERONICA: So, what was your first impression of Natalie?
JENNY: Oh, well, Natalie is… she is small but mighty. And she doesn’t back down. And she has a very focused way about her. And she speaks with a passion and a compassion to her. |
| 17:22 | JENNY: And like I said, she is small but mighty, and she carries a big punch in a sense. But I think the most beautiful thing – and there’s lots of beautiful things about my dear friend Natalie – is, you know, she has this sense about her, this aura about her, that I know is her sweet Abby is all in her. |
| 17:50 | JENNY: And Abby comes out and she just has a way of delivering a message that is so powerful and so convincing that people and lawmakers when we were at the Capitol, they just hear the message in a different way when it’s delivered from Natalie. And it’s powerful. |
| 18:17 | JENNY: And, you know, Georgians are lucky and blessed that the families had the courage… because it takes an enormous amount of strength, even for Natalie, to be with us here today, to tell the story, because it’s painful to share that again and again.
VERONICA: Again and again and again. JENNY: It is. And you know I can’t imagine that pain that Natalie and her family has had to go through. |
| 18:46 | JENNY: But for us Georgians, we have to be enormously grateful that she has the strength to do that because it’s because of people like Natalie and the other families that came to the gold dome to do that, that lives are being saved every single day. And for that, we’d all need to be grateful.
VERONICA: Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Natalie and Jenny, for the two laws that you all helped get passed here. You lobbied so hard for them in the Georgia legislature. |
| 19:16 | VERONICA: And the hands-free law has been a very successful one. Before it was passed, they averaged, the state of Georgia says, about 10 to 11,000 convictions every year for distracted driving. But in the last two years, as we see here today, it’s 2023. And in 2021 and 2022, there were more than 50,000 convictions for distracted driving. Admittedly, hard to enforce. You don’t always see people on their phones. I mean, I do, but I’m not a cop, right? I can’t pull them over. But you do see it. |
| 19:45 | VERONICA: Still, tickets are up. Accidents are down, at least the ones that deal with distracted driving. So, I think that all of us owe you and your families and the lobbying that you did a debt of gratitude, because it makes us all safer.
NATALIE: Thank you. VERONICA: And I always think that we can learn to be better. Maybe we drove distracted coming here. But when we go home, now we know the importance of putting the phone down. |
| 20:12 | VERONICA: I found it fascinating that the driver, who was a teenager at the time that he hit your family, was only sided with a misdemeanor. And then two years later, he finds himself in a fatal crash where his girlfriend passed away. And this time, the conviction was a lot more severe. He got prison time.
NATALIE: Yes, yes. He received 20 years, serving 15. |
| 20:36 | NATALIE: So, you know, hopefully, even that precedence, you know, will touch others when they hear our story and hear the aftermath that, you know, in a split second, lives are completely altered; and the trajectory of your life has completely changed. And when you, you know, take that risk, when you glance down at your phone or any other distraction in the car, you are driving blindly. |
| 21:08 | NATALIE: And people just don’t realize it in that sense.
VERONICA: It’s like driving with your eyes closed. NATALIE: It is exactly like driving with your eyes closed. And when I speak to teens about safe driving, I’ll often put it to them like this. Like, if something that is extremely important in their life… whether it be they’re a football player and they’re right in the middle of a game or a practice, or they’re in the band, or they’re into drama, and they’re practicing or performing one of their productions, would they pull out their phone in the middle of that important play where, you know, they’re going for a touchdown or right in the middle of, you know, the highlight of the production? Would they distract themselves in that way? |
| 21:52 | NATALIE: So then why in the world would you do it when you’re driving and you have that responsibility of lives in your hands?
VERONICA: That’s a beautiful analogy. Do you see the light bulbs go on in that moment? NATALIE: Yeah, it’s just… we don’t… you know, in our society, driving has become second nature in the car. We’re often distracted mentally. We’re distracted with our phones that are a complete addiction these days for all of us. |
| 22:18 | NATALIE: And we have forgotten the responsibility that we have when we are sitting in that driver’s seat, and that it is a weapon that we are controlling, that it is a two-ton weapon. And it’s more than just getting from A to B or, you know, whatever you’re going through that day, that you have to stop and think that all those people that are on the road with you, they have lives. They are mothers, they’re daughters, they’re husbands, you know, they’re sons, they’re relatives, and very deeply loved. |
| 22:52 | VERONICA: We all think that we can do it. Everybody thinks it’s just a second. It’s just going to take… But that could literally, literally be the difference between life and death. And it’s interesting that the driver whose accident or whose crash just severely changed the trajectory of your family’s lives wasn’t even texting. You know, he was just getting phone calls or making phone calls. It doesn’t matter what it is, what that distraction is. |
| 23:19 | VERONICA: And it is anything that takes your eyes off the road, even for a second.
NATALIE: It is. And it’s not a one-time occurrence. It’s not a one-time event. It is forever after. You know every fiber of your life is completely changed. So, you know we want to do everything in our power, along with Jenny, to prevent other families from ever having to live the life that we’ve had to live. |
| 23:47 | JENNY: Well, I think the other thing that’s so important to remember is these things, they happen. We always think it’s never going to happen to us, right? And that we’re immune to it. Oh, I’m a good driver and I can do it for just a second. But that’s not the case. You know, Natalie was a good driver. You know, our family, my husband was doing… he wasn’t quote unquote doing anything wrong, right? |
| 24:15 | JENNY: But it’s not… everybody has to take their ownership of being and making the wise decision.
VERONICA: Everybody has a part to play. JENNY: Everybody has a part to play. NATALIE: ‘Cause it comes down to choices. JENNY: Correct. NATALIE: And our motto with the foundation is “one life, one choice.” You know, you have… we all have one life, and it can come down to that one choice that you make while you’re driving. VERONICA: Nine-year-old Abby is the namesake of Abby’s Angels. |
| 24:43 | VERONICA: And I would love to hear something about the great work of the foundation. Tell me a little bit about how it makes a difference. What do you all focus on there?
NATALIE: Abby, I always think… I kind of say that Abby’s foundation has taken on her personality because it’s everywhere and all over the place at once. But our main focus is Abby’s Closets and our safe driving message. |
| 25:09 | NATALIE: And Abby’s Closets are sweet, little welcoming, colorful, on the verge of tacky little spaces that go into schools that we partner with, and they provide school supplies for students, any school supply they could possibly need from kindergarten through 12th grade. We realized quickly that the work had to reflect her and her heart and what was important to her. And friendship and making other children feel accepted and part of a part of a group and just feeling supported and loved and friendship was very important to her. |
| 25:45 | VERONICA: And she loved first day of school shopping, right?
NATALIE: She loved shopping of all sorts, but she especially loved the joy that came with shopping for all those fun new school supplies. And we just quickly realized there are so many countless families in our communities that can’t provide even just the basic tools for school. So, Abby’s Closets provide those and so much more. VERONICA: I know that Abby, as you mentioned earlier, saved some lives because she was an organ donor when she lost her life. |
| 26:18 | VERONICA: And in many ways, she’s living on through other people as well as through you. Tell me a little bit about the scholarships and the Rainbow Run. We’re wearing these very cool t-shirts. And if you can’t see this right here on the radio, you have to, like, look at the YouTube. Check us out. The Abby’s Foundation- Abby’s Angels Foundation shirts. Tell me a little bit about the Rainbow Run.
NATALIE: So the Rainbow Run is held every April and it is held during April… organ donation, or… April is Organ Donation Awareness Month as well as Distracted Driving Awareness Month. |
| 26:48 | NATALIE: So, it’s basically just a celebration to say thank you to our community, to celebrate Abby’s life, and to raise funding for the work that the foundation strives to do. And it’s just basically just a fun-filled day that we hope families and friends come out and make memories together because that’s what’s, you know, so important is to make those memories. And we just want everyone to laugh and have fun and get blasted with colored powder when you run the rainbow. |
| 27:18 | VERONICA: I love that. I’m going to do that one day. If you see pictures of little Abby, you see just how vibrant her absolute life was. We’re talking to Natalie Bacho and Jenny Harty here on Lawyers in the House. Coming up next, the Montlick closing argument. Don’t miss it.
You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. If you want to listen to our radio show live, you can hear it every Sunday, 8:00 a.m. on 95.5 WSB. |
| 27:47 | VERONICA: Welcome back to Lawyers in the House with Montlick on WSB. I’m Veronica Waters here with Jenny Harty from Montlick Injury Attorneys, the director of iRideSafe™ and Natalie Bacho, who is the president of the Abby’s Angels Foundation. You’ve been waiting for it. The Montlick closing argument is here. Jenny and Natalie, take it away. |
| 28:10 | JENNY: So we are here to recognize National Teen Driver Safety Week and the importance of driving home the message to our teens and their families and caregivers on the importance of teens and educating them on the responsibility that they have behind the wheel each and every time they go on the road to drive and what power and influence they have and the choices they have to make to keep the road safe and to keep their riders safe in their vehicles as well as other people on the road. |
| 28:47 | NATALIE: Yes. And it’s held the third week of October every year. It’s the National Awareness Week and it’s a week that most people don’t know exists. And when you think about it, we’re all taught about Red Ribbon Week and the awareness for drug awareness when we’re in school, which is very well deserving. It is most definitely deserving. |
| 29:09 | NATALIE: However, there are some populations of children or teens that may never get approached about the subject of drugs or to be exposed to drugs, but we are all going to drive or be passengers or pedestrians for that matter. And we just feel if we begin sharing a positive, preventative message with the teens, the ripple effect that that can create, and they can become, you know, even safer adult drivers and just help us share that message. |
| 29:40 | NATALIE: And one way we do that also is we partner with Fear This 4 Life or Teen Vehicle Operations Courts, which is a class that was founded by Woodrow Gaines. It’s taught here in the metro Atlanta area. It’s a phenomenal class that teaches teens accident avoidance skills. We fund it monthly in Coweta County and we believe so much in what this class can do and what it teaches that we award five $1,000 college scholarships to graduating seniors who have just taken the class. |
| 30:13 | NATALIE: And if they just can express their dedication to helping us share this safe driving message among their population because peers listen to peers. You know, they’re going to listen to their friends more than they will to other adults, we feel. And if we can get that age group empowered to share how important this message is, then you know we truly believe lives will be saved.
VERONICA: You will save lives. Each one teach one. Thank you so much to Natalie Bacho and Jenny Harty. |
| 30:44 | VERONICA: I’m Veronica Waters here on Lawyers in the House with Montlick. This is an example of how you wear your tragedy as armor and not shackles. Until next time, we’ll see you. For more information about this mission or how you can help or donate or find these teen driving courses, visit abbysangelsfoundation.org
You’re listening to our podcast, Lawyers in the House with Montlick. Catch us live every Sunday, 8:00 a.m. on 95.5 WSB. |
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