Waynesfield-Goshen FFA member Jeremy Riemesch (pictured above) was 19 years old when he died in 2021 after a single-vehicle accident caused by distracted driving.
Jeremy was driving over the speed limit and recording a video on his smartphone when he veered off the road and overcorrected, causing his truck to roll. He was ejected from the vehicle.
An Ohio native, Jeremy was a graduate of Waynesfield-Goshen High School and Apollo Career Center. He earned both the State FFA Degree and the American FFA Degree, and he was pursuing his lifelong passion: a career in production agriculture.
“Jeremy lived out his dream of working as a custom harvester in May 2020, harvesting wheat from Oklahoma to North Dakota for several months with a Frederick Harvesting crew,” Jeremy’s dad, Mark Riemesch, says. “He also worked full-time for Pinecrest Farms here in northern Ohio.”
Not only was Jeremy a hard worker and a farmer at heart, he was also a brother to two sisters, Jessica and Jenna, and a beloved friend to many.
Mark and Sandy Riemesch, Jeremy’s parents, are passionate about sharing the importance of safe driving with the goal of helping other families avoid similar tragedies. They hope their loss can help others understand the dangers of distracted driving. Even skilled drivers — like Jeremy, who spent years driving tractors and had extensive experience behind the wheel of semitrucks – can lose control of their vehicles in an instant, and the results can be fatal.
“A small lapse in judgment robbed Jeremy of his future, and it robbed us of the opportunity to see our son’s life unfold,” Mark says. “I don’t want others to endure what we’re going through.”
This April, in honor of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Mark plans to share a safe driving presentation with students at Apollo Career Center, where Jeremy completed a commercial driver’s license program.
Ford, an FFA sponsor, is also committed to helping drivers stay safe. In conjunction with the Governors Highway Safety Association, the Ford Motor Company Fund offers a free program called Ford Driving Skills for Life to address the leading cause of teenage deaths, which is vehicle crashes.
The award-winning program helps young people become more proficient with vehicle handling, hazard recognition, and speed and space management.
“April is the kickoff of summertime driving, so there’s never been a better time to focus on the importance of safe driving,” says Nolan Katerberg, community relations program manager for the Ford Motor Company Fund. “I encourage everyone to wear a seat belt, put phones away while driving, and do not get in a car with anyone who’s impaired. If someone is driving recklessly, say something. Making the right decisions as both a driver and a passenger can save a life.”
Check out Ford’s Driving Skills for Life resources and consider attending one of the program’s in-person events to learn more.
