Four years ago, Lisa Mitchell woke her son Eli with a kiss on the cheek, per her usual routine.
Early Wednesday, she woke up in the same bed, ready to give Eli his morning kiss. Instead of his smiling cheek, however, her lips found the cold glass of a picture frame.
“The picture I see every morning, instead of Eli, is frozen in time,” Mitchell said. “This cute picture of a sweet face.”
She shared her darkest moment on Wednesday as part of the campaign led by the Utah Department of Transportation and the Utah Department of Public Safety, where families impacted by traffic accidents delivered messages encouraging Utah drivers to drive responsibly.
The moment that lives in memory
On April 26, 2022, Eli was riding his bike home from the grocery store when he was hit by a drunk driver.
When Eli’s father, Jeremy Mitchell, pulled into a car wash a mere stone’s throw away from the crash, he observed the chaotic scene, increasingly troubled by the fact that Eli hadn’t returned home for the day.
“I’m looking for my son,” Mitchell said to a nearby officer, offering a brief description of Eli to ask if the officer had seen him.
The officer’s face fell. He pulled Mitchell aside to relay the devastating news that Eli had died.
While the officer spoke with Mitchell, Eli’s bike lay on the ground behind them, bent and crushed, with a plastic grocery bag of store-bought sweets still hanging on the handlebars.
The Mitchell family, along with their friends and loved ones, have lived with the consequences of that event every day since.
“Not one minute goes by that we do not think about Eli and miss him,” Lisa Mitchell said. “I miss Eli every day, and I will miss him every day until I see him again.”
Eli’s story is haunting, and it’s not alone.
This weekend begins Utah’s 100 Deadliest Days
This weekend marks the start of Utah’s 100 Deadliest Days, a name given to the time in between Memorial Day and Labor Day when traffic fatalities increase.
Over the last decade, more than 900 fatalities have occurred during this period, according to data released by Zero Fatalities. This number averages out to almost one death per day.
Utah roads have already seen more fatalities in 2026 than at this time in 2025, which causes concern heading into the summer months, especially before Memorial Day weekend. At least one fatality has occurred each Memorial Day weekend over the last five years, reaching 11 total since 2021.
Maj. Chamberlin Neff of the Utah Highway Patrol said this season brings with it an opportunity for Utah drivers to remember that every decision they make carries a consequence.
“As we enter into the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer, we’re asking Utahns to make safe choices every time they get behind the wheel,” Neff said at a press briefing.
Dangerous driving habits are becoming more common
Almost half of Americans say dangerous driving in their are has increased in recent years, according to Pew Research Center data.
In addition to drunk driving, drowsy, distracted and aggressive drivers pose a threat to the safety of others on the road.
Drowsy driving kills 6,000 Americans each year, according to an analysis released by the Governors Highway Safety Association.
The association also reported that distracted drivers are 240% more likely to crash.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that more than 11,000 people died in speeding-related traffic deaths in 2024. Speeding, however, has the lowest perceived social disapproval of all risky driving behaviors, according to AAA.
Neff advises drivers to combat dangerous driving habits by wearing a seat belt, driving calmly and without road rage, putting phones down, focusing on the road and finding a sober ride.
“Those choices, among others, really do matter and make an impact as you drive safely on Utah roads,” Neff said.
Eli’s story serves as a reminder to drive safely
Today, Eli’s picture — the very same one that sits on his mother’s bedside table — smiles from a tile on a visual installation featuring multiple victims of driving fatalities.
“We want his picture to be a reminder,” Jeremy Mitchell said. “Remember people like him.”
The street where Eli was hit, 1510 West in West Jordan, is now named “Eli Mitchell Way.” When Eli’s family drives by it, they are reminded of what distracted, drunk and irresponsible driving can cost.
“Almost every situation like this can be reduced to a choice,” Lisa Mitchell said. When Utah drivers pull onto the road each morning, the Mitchell family and others like them hope drivers will be conscious of their choices behind the wheel.
