Paul Miller Jr. was attending East Stroudsburg University in 2010. A graduate of Lackawanna College, he loved watching the Yankees and was studying criminal justice to become a police officer.

Instead at age 21 he became a statistic.

On July 5, 2010, he was traveling on Route 33 in Hamilton Township, when he was hit by a tractor-trailer driven by a driver who became distracted.

The driver crossed over two lanes, a grassy median and hit Paul Miller head-on.

“My son did everything right,” his mother Eileen Miller said. She said the truck driver did everything wrong.

“I whispered in (Paul’s) ear that when I found out what caused the crash I would fight for change,” she said.

On June 5 of this year, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 37 — known as Paul Miller’s Law. This bipartisan legislation prohibiting the use of hand-held devices while driving makes Pennsylvania the 29th state in the nation to ban distracted driving.

The law, to take effect next year, allows police to issue a ticket when a driver uses a cellphone while driving. Drivers can still use their phones to alert emergency responders and to make phone calls, use a GPS, and listen to music, if they are using hands-free technology.

“This is not just for Paul,” Eileen Miller said. “It’s for every family that is in Pennsylvania that doesn’t have to have two state troopers knocking on their door to tell them that their loved one was killed by something so preventable as distracted driving.

“There is no reason why someone should die because of a phone call, a text, a Snapchat. Pull over.”

The driver of the rig that hit Paul Miller was convicted and she met with him in prison. That’s when she formulated the idea about a cellphone ban.

Miller met Sen. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe, then state representative, at a Safe 80 meeting in 2012.

She reached out to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation because Paul was killed in a work zone.

“I never thought in a million years it would take so long to pass common sense legislation,” Eileen Miller said. For 12 years she spoke at schools, traveled to transportation in other states, watched as other states enacted laws.

“Everyone knows being on a cellphone is dangerous,” she said.

Miller cited statistics that 10% of crashes are caused by distracted driving. However, many believe the numbers are a lot higher.

Miller said the law is Paul’s legacy and will save lives. Her husband Paul Sr. is battling ALS and they are grateful he was here to see the bill finally pass.

“Paul’s legacy through Senate Bill 37 will be a beacon of protection for every driver on Pennsylvania’s roadways,” Rep. Rosemary Brown said at the law signing.

Colonel Christopher Paris, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, was the commander of the Dunmore barracks in 2010 when the troopers knocked on the Millers’ door to tell them about Paul.

Paris said countless drivers at crash scenes say, “I only looked away for a second.”

He said a vehicle traveling 65 mph will traverse 95 feet in one second. One second is more than enough time to cause a crash, a permanent injury or cause a crash.

Public education is a major part of the law. Go hands-free, or just keep the phone away, Paris advised.

The Paul Miller Foundation also provides scholarships and a driving simulator in the criminal justice program at Lackawanna College.

But Eileen Miller is not finished fighting. “Honestly, even hands free is not right. Turn technology off and drive,” she said. “Hands-free is not risk free.”

She called cellphones an addiction. “Every time it beeps we are reaching for it.”

Miller says people have to make wise choices behind the wheel.

“Make the choice to arrive alive,” she said.

MARTA GOUGER | MGOUGER@TNONLINE.COM