Project Yellow Light Founder Discusses Her Life-Saving Mission

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Viewers of CBS2 know that every morning Alex Denis reminds people not to text and drive.

CBS2 partnered with Project Yellow Light, a scholarship competition to encourage kids and teens to spread the word.

Denis greeted this year's winners of the competition in Times Square, and spoke with the project's founder about her mission to save lives.

Dozens gathered in Times Square Friday afternoon to meet the winners of the national scholarship competition. The winning entries were displayed on a billboard for everyone to see. Click here to see the wining entries.

Young applicants from across the country created videos, billboards and radio ads discouraging distracted driving.

Julie Garner founded the program after her 16-year-old son Hunter was killed in a car accident with a distracted driver behind the wheel.

"When Hunter died we almost died, and the thing that kept us alive was the passion to keep other young people from dying needlessly," Garner told Denis.

Now in its 10th year, Project Yellow Light has awarded tens of thousands of dollars in scholarship money. This year, high school student Alison Hendricks from Ocean City, N.J. won the billboard design prize. Her billboard cleverly reads "Get over your self-ie. Send it later."

Hendricks is proud of her accomplishment, but recognizes the true meaning of the competition.

"I thought it was important to spread the message to other young drivers, as a new driver, to not text and drive," Hendricks said.

For more information about Project Yellow Light, click here.