Lisa Rice has moved through the stages of grief and now she’s halfway to the other side — and taking action. A year ago next week, Rice and her loved ones were camping when tragedy struck. While backing up the family truck, Rice backed over her 5-year-old son, Craig Dean Rice, killing him. One minute he was in front of the truck; the next he was crushed beneath its wheels as Rice backed up. It’s not something a parent gets over. Ever. But the Sacramento, Calif., mother is working to make sure a similar tragedy doesn’t happen to another family. She believes that a reverse sensor system could have saved her son’s life — or, at least, bettered the odds that she might have known he was behind the monster Ford F150 Super Crew truck she was driving. “It’s something that’s totally available on the market,” she said. “Consumers just aren’t aware of it.” Craig, Lisa Rice’s third child and only son, had just graduated from preschool, and the trip was a vacation before he started kindergarten. “He was so excited to spend the week with me and his two sisters,” Rice said. “He was counting the days to where we did not have to get up early and go our separate ways as we did each morning in our daily routine.” On Saturday, July 12, 2003, Rice, the three children and Rice’s longtime boyfriend woke up and went to Marine World in Vallejo, Calif., for the day. Craig “had a blast” that day because he was finally tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides, his mother said. After the day at Marine World, they headed over to the California coast to spend a few nights camping in Doran Regional Park. The guys went out crab-fishing on the rocks. Lisa Rice and the two girls went shopping, bringing back a stunt kite when they returned to the campsite. “Craig was so happy he had caught a crab and seen a real starfish,” Rice said. While the coals to cook dinner were getting hot, Lisa Rice decided to drive the girls to the showers. Craig wanted to go, but Rice said he could go later with Lonny, her boyfriend. She watched him walk in front of the truck toward the tent. Behind her, Lonny was trying to get the kite to fly. She waited for him to signal her to back up so she could get out of the campsite space. Lonny motioned for her to back up. No one saw Craig back there, but next thing they knew he was pinned under the truck. This isn’t just one parent’s story. In 2003, 72 children nationwide died in backup incidents, a 24 percent increase over the year before. Many advocates attribute the growing tragedies to the popularity of larger and larger SUVs and minivans; add length and bulk to vehicles and the size of the blind spots also grows. When Lisa Rice bought a large truck, she thought she was picking a vehicle that ensured her children more safety, never thinking there might be other, unknown safety concerns. After her son’s death, she learned that a friend automatically got rear sensors on the Ford Expedition he had, that they weren’t an option. She’d never even heard they were available, and her 2003 vehicle was newer. “My heart aches so much because I didn’t even know this was an option, and it could have saved my son,” Rice said. Rearview cameras and reverse sensor systems now on the market range from $200 to $1,200. For $20, motorists can buy a wide-angle window lens that provides a better view of whatever’s behind. Rice urges that sales staffs be mandated to at least offer the devices to consumers. She blasts the auto industry for not being more proactive. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has argued that new safety technology becomes standard as demand grows. Lots of information on safety issues regarding kids and cars, proposed legislation and emerging safety technologies is at www.kidsandcars.org and similar organizations.