Garden City family turns tragedy into advocacy after distracted driver kills teen

GARDEN CITY, Kansas (KAKE) – According to Forbes, Kansas ranks second in the nation in terms of the percentage of fatal crashes due to distracted driving. A Garden City family turned to advocacy after tragedy struck a year ago and they lost their family's sunflower.

Cassandra Kay Linder was set to enter her senior year of high school this fall, but she was tragically killed by a utility vehicle in March 2023. Today, the Linder family is ensuring her legacy lives on through advocacy and awareness.

Cassy Kay was a bubbly sophomore who got good grades and loved teaching children gymnastics and sunflowers.

“With my daughter, it was just little things and I'll always remember all those little things,” said Todd Linder, Cassandra's father.

Linder said it was the first day of spring break when her 16-year-old daughter was driving home on Interstate 50 just outside Garden City. A commercial vehicle slammed into her car head-on as it went 55 mph around a curve in a safety corridor. Cassy survived the crash, but it took more than 20 minutes to pull her from the rubble.

“My daughter bled to death that day and it could have been 100 percent prevented if the driver of the commercial vehicle had not been on his phone and paying attention to the road,” Linder said.

Every year, distracted driving kills approximately 3,000 people in the United States. Distracted driving is not limited to cell phone use, it can also include eating while driving, talking to other people in the car, or simply looking out the window.

“In 2023, the unofficial tally for Kansas for distracted driving is 102 deaths and my daughter is part of that statistic,” Linder said.

The Linder family took this tragedy in stride and turned it into advocacy.

“Cassandra’s favorite flower was the sunflower. Her tomb was covered in sunflowers the day she was buried,” Linder says.

They are honoring their daughter by raising awareness about distracted driving in a number of ways. Todd and his wife Rosa have distributed thousands of memorial cards with stickers attached.

“People put them on their cars, on their cell phones, like that. Because we all need that little reminder every now and then to not drive distracted,” Linder said.

They also distributed thousands of bracelets in memory of Cassy and designed rugs with the same message. They distributed several rugs at different locations in Garden City and Kansas.

“I would like to see every school in Kansas with one of these mats,” Linder said.

Todd and Rosa recently traveled to Washington DC to meet with lawmakers and continue their advocacy.

“I hope she's proud,” Linder said.

Linder said he reached out to more than 100 Kansas delegates and legislators to educate them about the dangers of distracted driving and to tell them about Kansas laws that could be modernized. He said only 10 of them responded.

“The national average is 8 percent for distracted driving deaths; our state of Kansas is at 22 percent. As Kansas citizens, we have to do better,” Linder said.

In Kansas, vehicular manslaughter is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison and a $2,500 fine. Kansas also has a cap on civil suits for vehicular manslaughter.

“It's crazy to think that Kansas would consider my daughter's life worth $250,000,” Linder said.

Todd now plans to become a politician to continue his mission and carry on his daughter's legacy.

“I never planned this. In fact, it’s my worst nightmare. But I’m not going to stop. I’m not going to stop. Ever. All for Cassy,” Linder said.

The family claims a miracle happened on the one-year anniversary of Cassy's death. On March 13, 2024, their seventh granddaughter, Elara Kay, was born, bearing Cassy's middle name. Todd says her birth completely changed the way his family viewed what was once the worst day of their lives.