“My son was my first mate,” says Hills, 70, a former Navy machinist who spent his career in automotive sales and running a gold-mining company. “I’ve had several sailboats -- done quite a bit of sailing – and this was my lifetime dream, to have a boat of this magnitude I could sail with my son. I put the best of everything into it.”

Kevin, 38, returned to California to build custom homes, and in March of 2008 he married Lisa Prock in Las Vegas, where they honeymooned.

18 wheeler trucks hit and ran

Four days after they wed, Hills came home after working on Beautiful Dreamer, which was “safe, comfortable and ready.” He and his son had sailed it in Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, “and it could go anywhere. It was built to go to sea.”

As soon as Hills entered his house, he knew something was wrong.

“My wife, Elizabeth, was sitting in the living room with a grim face and said I’d better sit down. She had something awful to tell me. I figured it was cancer. I never dreamed my son and new daughter-in-law had been killed.”

Just before dawn on March 13, 2008, Kevin and Lisa were standing near their black Toyota truck on the shoulder of I-15 outside Las Vegas, having run out of gas. They’d called 911, but no assistance had come.

Two 18-wheeler trucks got there first.

One struck Lisa as she tried to wave someone down. The second swerved off the road and smashed into Kevin and his vehicle. Both 18 wheelers then left the scene.

“Kevin and Lisa’s body parts were spread out for a mile on the road, and some were still on the trucks,” Hills says. “One trucker went to a car wash to wash it off.”

‘Horrific’ deaths inspire a crusade

Aided by witnesses, the Nevada Highway Patrol found both trucks and their drivers. But as DNA tests await, charges have not yet been filed.

“It took 24 hours to identify my son and figure out how to contact me,” Hills says. “That truck had dragged my son over a mile after it hit him.”

Hills says he’s driven a motor home 150,000 miles in 15 years, “and I’ve seen a lot of accidents. But this was one of the worst. There was nothing to identify Kevin. It was horrific -- like road kill. Now every time I see a bloody mess from an animal on the highway, I see my son. I may never get over it.”

But he is responding to it.

“I was so devastated – I cry every day – that I had to get my mind on something positive and start working on it,” Hills says. “So I immediately got started.”

New laws needed to regulate 18-wheeler trucks

First, he established a memorial fund for Kevin and Lisa. Then he began investigating trucking safety – or the lack of it.

“I’ve interviewed a lot of people who drive a lot, and they’re scared out there,” Hills says. “Truckers have taken control of the highways. I know truckers and four-wheelers have got to get along, and we all could drive more safely. But those huge trucks should have different standards, and we’ve got to make new laws.”

Hills believes too many truckers drive too fast, due to tight deadlines and financial crunches.

“But anything that may lead to killing people is not acceptable,” he says. “Besides, a heavy 18-wheeler should have a slower speed limit (than cars). I think 70 mph is too fast. “

He also wants to tighten up laws governing truckers’ hours, drug-testing and inspections, as well as to remove “a lot of junk rigs” from the highways.

“There are some really good truck companies and good truck drivers out there, with GPS on their rigs so they can’t play around with logs and doctor them up,” Hills says. “But there are too many bad ones, in part because it’s too easy to get a commercial license.”

Hills plans to “make highways safer”

Fueled by his love of his son, Hills vows to change that.

“I’m going to make highways safer, and I don’t care if I have to die doing it,” he says. “I’ll spend every dollar I’ve got, because this is my main focus now. It’s my mission. I’ve never failed in anything I’ve done, and I’m not going to fail in this now.”

Hills plans to devote money donated to the memorial fund and anything he may collect for legal damages to his trucking crusade. He plans to go to Washington, D.C. and anywhere else where he can seek help.

From lawmakers to the Department of Transportation, Hills says he will “take it as far as I can.” He also wants to form “some type of lobby, perhaps through the Internet. I’ve talked to other families affected by truckers who have driven too long and fallen asleep. These people want to join me.”

Jim S. Adler & Associates provides help

For legal representation Hills contacted Houston-based law firm Jim S. Adler & Associates.

“Jim Adler has helped me get over my grief,” he says. “Whether we win, lose or draw, I’ve been very impressed with how I’m treated – better than any law firm I’ve ever been in.”

The robust 70-year-old says he’s driven almost 2 million miles in his lifetime without causing an accident.

“My dad was a very smart man who taught me some wisdom I’ve tried to apply behind the wheel and in everything I do, and that’s to keep your eye on the ball,” Hills says. “Whatever you do, in your marriage or on the highway, keep your focus. That’s why I don’t talk on a cell phone while I’m driving. A call can go to voice mail. It can wait. But safety can’t, because nothing is so important that I’ll jeopardize my life or someone else’s.”

Hills has “a longstanding mistrust of 18 wheelers,” which is why his “main goal is to go after tough trucking laws.”

Tragedy is hard to get over

He says his son’s death “is the first big tragedy to strike my family. I’ve been real lucky. But I’m having a hard time getting over this.

“Kevin and I were very close. We were simpatico. While we were together we shared a lot: boating, camping, travel and a love of the outdoors.

“All his life, he even wanted to change his name to my name of Ken. That made me happy but sad -- happy because that boy loved me so much that he wanted to take my name, but sad because he was a strong person on his own, so why take my identity?

“Kevin always looked up to me, but I looked up to him, too. He was a very active child and a darling boy. He had a genius-level IQ and was much smarter than me. Yet we were like best friends.”

Dreams of sailing put on hold

Now Hills can’t bring himself to sail Beautiful Dreamer.

“I want to, but every time I get near it I’m sad,” he says.

“I’ve lost all interest in the boat, because that was my dream for Kevin. We were gonna have a lot of fun as father and son, sailing and diving for sunken treasure. Now, instead of going sailing and thinking about him, this cause helps me keep my mind active and deal with a horrendously painful situation.”

Hills hasn’t given up the boat, though.

“Someone may come along to take Kevin’s place and help me sail Beautiful Dreamer,” he says. “But I’ll never replace Kevin. I can only honor his memory.

“I know I can’t get Kevin back, but I can do things to ensure no one else’s child or mother or father is killed out there. And it’s not just for Kevin’s memory. It’s for everyone’s common good that we have safer highways.”