Motorcycle crash victims to share Jacksonville billboard

Message intended to remind drivers to check twice for motorcycles

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Several billboards throughout the state, including one in Jacksonville, will display the photos of two young local men who died in motorcycle crashes.

May is Motorcycle Awareness Month, and their photos are intended to remind drivers to "Be nice, look twice, save a life." The message and their pictures will appear on a billboard along Philips Highway near Baymeadows Road on the Southside.

Tina McElhenny's son Kris was 18-years-old when he was killed in 2002 while riding his motorcycle in Tallahassee. The driver failed to yield and pulled out in front of him. McElhenny says the billboard will spread an important message.

"We'll never talk, hug, kiss or laugh with our son again," McElhenny said. "He's never going to be forgotten and I want that message to come out to help save others."

Barry Crigger will also appear on the billboard. He met his mother Candy Crigger for lunch on Mother's Day in 2007, and as she was following him home, another driver pulled out in front of Barry causing a crash.

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"It's surreal and you're praying the whole time that he's alright, and he wasn't," Crigger said. "I held him and told him how much I loved him."

The billboards are paid for through donations and will be posted for about a month. The two mothers want drivers and motorcyclists alike to take extra precaution.

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"If we can save one person's life; if one person pays attention, it makes a difference," Crigger said.

In addition to Jacksonville, billboards will be posted in Tallahassee, Panama City and Pensacola. A fifth billboard will be placed in Johnson City, Tennessee, which is Barry Crigger's hometown.