EAST MOLINE, Illinois -- April 1st is Illinois State Trooper Day. Illinois State Police say the day is meant to honor the men and women of the ISP, especially the three troopers, Christopher Lambert, Brooke Jones-Story, and Gerald Ellis, who lost their lives this year.
The three troopers were killed by drivers not obeying Illinois Scott's Law. The law requires drivers to move over or slow down for emergency vehicles with flashing lights on the shoulder of the road. After seeing the recent tragedies, 12-year-old Lucy Kuelper decided to use social media to push the law.
Lucy's father, John Kuelper, has been an Illinois State Trooper for 17 years. She decided to create the "Move Over Project" to help keep her dad safe on the job.
"I thought that it would be helpful to spread the word," Kuelper said. "The page says 'you should move over so no one else gets hurt,' and I just hope every day my dad, or everyone's dad, mom or brother, just comes home safe."
The page shares photos of trooper's families while using the hashtag "Move Over For".
"We're putting real faces, real families, real pets out there," Lucy's father John Kuelper said. "Saying, that all these people need to come home. It's making an impact and hopefully, it will make a difference."
Lucy created the page on Friday, March 29th, and it now has more than 11,000 likes.
"I just thought I could help in any way possible," she said." I just took the picture, and I didn't think it was going to go this far."
"I'm proud of Lucy for taking this initiative and continuing to spread this message," John said. " Accidents seem to be happening on a more frequent basis. People just have to pay attention, they've got to slow down, they've got to move over. Obey the laws."
Lucy said one of her favorite part of the page is reading and sharing the stories of other trooper families.
"Some of them are happy stories, but the sad ones just really get to me," Lucy said. "But, I'm glad their stories have been let out."
Lucy said she never thought her page would go viral, but she says it already has reached over one million people. The page has received posts from as far as Texas. She says she is happy it has more than 11,000 likes, but hopes this means 11,000 people will move over.
"I think if it saved even one life or one person, I think that would be great," she said.
The page caused so much attention, Lucy was awarded the State of Illinois Commission Volunteer of the Week.
