New Haven Register
CHESHIRE — A 2008 graduate of Cheshire High School died on Christmas Eve in a snowboarding accident at Killington Resort in Vermont.
Alex Westphal, 20, suffered massive internal injuries when he collided with an immovable object, probably a pole or tree, according to his father, Ryan Westphal.
Ryan, wife Ann and Alex Westphal had traveled to Vermont Wednesday morning for a Christmas vacation. They had many fond memories of a ski vacation 15 years earlier that they wanted to re-create, Ryan said. Alex Westphal’s parents brought him to Killington, then left to check into the hotel and go cross-country skiing while Alex snowboarded.
At 11:44 a.m., on his first or second run of the day, Alex Westphal sent his parents a photo he took with his cell phone from the top of the mountain.
“We’re a family that has a lot of contact. It was his way of having us share in that moment at the top of the mountain,” Ryan Westphal said Sunday. “Being up there, being out in nature, he was just incredibly happy.”
At 12:01 p.m., a volunteer ski patrolman found Alex Westphal and started CPR. Ryan Westphal said the CPR continued for about 40 minutes as his son was taken to the hospital, but Alex had died on the mountain.
State troopers found Ryan and Ann Westphal, who were cross-country skiing, and told them what had happened. The reality of the situation didn’t sink in until they went to the hospital and saw their son, said Ryan Westphal. On Christmas day, the couple went to the site of the accident to piece together what had transpired. Ryan Westphal believed it happened quickly, and nothing could have been done to save Alex.
After returning to Cheshire, the Westphals were contacted by one of Alex’s college fraternity brothers. Word of Alex’s accident was spreading, and a Facebook page dedicated to his memory had been created. By late Sunday, nearly 650 people had joined.
“It’s really mind-blowing. People from all different aspects of his life ... are chiming in and saying something nice about him,” said Ryan Westphal. “It’s really helpful in a really difficult time to know that so many people felt that his life mattered.”
Alex Westphal’s funeral will be held this week in Iowa, but his parents are planning a memorial service in Connecticut in the near future. Ryan Westphal said they had initially planned to have a few of his close friends attend, but they’ve been “just blown away” by the “outpouring of people expressing their feelings for him.”
Alex Westphal was in his sophomore year at Hofstra University, but planned to transfer to the SAE Institute in New York City in January to pursue an audio technology degree. Alex’s father said he’d been majoring in business at Hofstra, but his true passion was music.
Alex Westphal was born in South Dakota, and his family moved around to Nashville, Tenn., and Portland, Ore.. before settling in Cheshire in 2000, said Ryan Westphal.
At Cheshire High School, Alex Westphal played basketball, baseball and football, according to his father. His baseball coach, Bill Mrowka, remembered him as very athletic and easy-going. Alex Westphal didn’t let things bother him, but “just kind of rolled with it,” Mrowka said.
Alex Westphal joined the football team senior year.
“He was a great kid,” said Mark Ecke, football coach and a school resource officer at the high school. “A pretty talented athlete, but bigger than that. He came out, he got injured for us, then he stuck with it. He was just a great kid — great kid to be around, positive attitude, always had a smile on his face.”
Ryan Westphal said his son also loved animals, and fostered more than 250 kittens and puppies. Alex Westphal loved music, and would DJ and make his own music. He also did modeling in New York City, and appeared in a photo shoot in Cosmopolitan magazine.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Teen faces charge for August crash that killed Lincoln girl
From JournalStar.com:
Prosecutors have charged a 16-year-old boy with motor vehicle homicide for an August crash in south Lincoln that took the life of a 16-year-old girl.
Taylor Mortensen, a junior at Lincoln Southeast High School, went to court last week for the first time on the misdemeanor. He is set to return in February.
Police say Mortensen's Monte Carlo T-boned Emily Johnson's Honda Accord on Aug. 22 as she drove across Pine Lake Road after stopping for a stop sign on 34th Street.
Rescue workers whisked both of the young drivers to the hospital, where Johnson, a junior at Southwest High School, died.
In the days that followed, police went to Mortensen's home Aug. 27 with a search warrant, snapped pictures of his Samsung cell phone and left with it. Police haven't said publicly what, if anything, they found on it.
Months passed with no court action until the Lancaster County Attorney's office quietly filed the charge in adult court on Dec. 16.
Mortensen can ask that the case be transferred to juvenile court because of his age, but he is not eligible for diversion because the charge is not among those that can be diverted.
By state law, motor vehicle homicide occurs when a person "causes the death of another unintentionally while engaged in the operation of a motor vehicle in violation of the law of the State of Nebraska or in violation of any city or village ordinance..."
In the complaint, Deputy County Attorney Eric Miller alleged Mortensen was driving over the speed limit or driving "carelessly or without due caution."
Neither Miller nor others in the office returned messages seeking comment.
Chief Deputy County Attorney Joe Kelly said last month that when he heard of the crash he wondered, as others did, if Mortensen had been speeding or on a cell phone.
At that time he said police were still working to determine what had happened.
Prosecutors have charged a 16-year-old boy with motor vehicle homicide for an August crash in south Lincoln that took the life of a 16-year-old girl.
Taylor Mortensen, a junior at Lincoln Southeast High School, went to court last week for the first time on the misdemeanor. He is set to return in February.
Police say Mortensen's Monte Carlo T-boned Emily Johnson's Honda Accord on Aug. 22 as she drove across Pine Lake Road after stopping for a stop sign on 34th Street.
Rescue workers whisked both of the young drivers to the hospital, where Johnson, a junior at Southwest High School, died.
In the days that followed, police went to Mortensen's home Aug. 27 with a search warrant, snapped pictures of his Samsung cell phone and left with it. Police haven't said publicly what, if anything, they found on it.
Months passed with no court action until the Lancaster County Attorney's office quietly filed the charge in adult court on Dec. 16.
Mortensen can ask that the case be transferred to juvenile court because of his age, but he is not eligible for diversion because the charge is not among those that can be diverted.
By state law, motor vehicle homicide occurs when a person "causes the death of another unintentionally while engaged in the operation of a motor vehicle in violation of the law of the State of Nebraska or in violation of any city or village ordinance..."
In the complaint, Deputy County Attorney Eric Miller alleged Mortensen was driving over the speed limit or driving "carelessly or without due caution."
Neither Miller nor others in the office returned messages seeking comment.
Chief Deputy County Attorney Joe Kelly said last month that when he heard of the crash he wondered, as others did, if Mortensen had been speeding or on a cell phone.
At that time he said police were still working to determine what had happened.
Texting drivers more likely to crash
From Salt Lake Tribune:
A new study by University of Utah psychologists finds that drivers who send and receive text messages drive more erratically and are six times more likely to crash than drivers who aren't texting.
Researchers found that drivers must "switch" all their attention away from the road when they are composing or reading text messages. Consequently, this activity is far riskier than talking to a passenger and 50 percent more risky than conversing on a cell phone, which past U. research has found also impairs driving ability.
"We show that mechanisms involved in texting and talking are very different in terms of attention. If someone is talking on the phone, they are dividing attention between talking and driving," said Frank Drews, an associate professor of psychology who is lead author in the study published in the current edition of the journal Human Factors . "In text messaging, it is an all-or-nothing process. If you are texting, you are not paying attention to driving. You are basically driving blind."
At least 19 states, including Utah, and many municipalities have banned texting behind the wheel, while none has completely banned talking on the phone.
Under the leadership of Drews and colleague David Strayer, a co-author on the new study, the U. has become a leading center for experiments on distracted driving. Strayer adapted a three-screen driving simulator to allow behavioral scientists to document reaction times, trailing distances and other driving behaviors in conjunction with nondriving tasks.
Distracted driving accounts for 6,000 fatalities a year, Drews said, and cell phones are the most common distraction in a growing array of on-board electronics, like entertainment and GPS systems and laptops.
Public-safety advocates say the U. experiments inform public policy discussions and help quantify the real costs of distracted driving.
"We can take this data, combine it with prevalence information and estimate how many crashes are caused by text messaging. Legislators need to know that stuff," said David Teater, senior director for transportation safety initiatives at the National Safety Council.
The federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration uses street observations made in daylight and good weather to estimate the prevalence of cell phone use behind the wheel. These estimates cannot distinguish between those who are dialing a call, texting, or e-mailing, but they figure 11 percent of the driving public is using a cell phone at any given time. A small minority was seen manipulating the keys, leading observers to estimate that one in 100 motorists at this moment is jabbing phone buttons rather than looking at the road, Teater said.
The U. researchers selected 20 students, ages 19 to 23, to participate in the latest study as drivers, and 20 friends to engage in a texted conversation with the drivers as they piloted the simulator. Nearly all the participants, who used their own phones for the experiments, said they text while driving more than once a week.
"We wanted to mimic actual texting, which is something you do with someone you know," Drews said. "We gave them the task to coordinate evening activities. We wanted them to plan the evening using text messaging, something very typical."
Researchers found the texting drivers' reactions times slowed by 30 percent (versus nine percent for those talking on a phone). The distance from the car in front of them was more varied, they inadvertently changed lanes, and sometimes rammed cars in front of them. Six of the seven collisions that occurred during the study involved a texter.
While more states are banning texting while driving, Teaters suspects texting is "escalating at a dramatic rate," and not just among young drivers. Even the most well-meaning people find the message tone an irresistible cue to pick up the phone.
"We believe there is an addictive quality to this," he said. "It's almost a Pavlovian response."
A new study by University of Utah psychologists finds that drivers who send and receive text messages drive more erratically and are six times more likely to crash than drivers who aren't texting.
Researchers found that drivers must "switch" all their attention away from the road when they are composing or reading text messages. Consequently, this activity is far riskier than talking to a passenger and 50 percent more risky than conversing on a cell phone, which past U. research has found also impairs driving ability.
"We show that mechanisms involved in texting and talking are very different in terms of attention. If someone is talking on the phone, they are dividing attention between talking and driving," said Frank Drews, an associate professor of psychology who is lead author in the study published in the current edition of the journal Human Factors . "In text messaging, it is an all-or-nothing process. If you are texting, you are not paying attention to driving. You are basically driving blind."
At least 19 states, including Utah, and many municipalities have banned texting behind the wheel, while none has completely banned talking on the phone.
Under the leadership of Drews and colleague David Strayer, a co-author on the new study, the U. has become a leading center for experiments on distracted driving. Strayer adapted a three-screen driving simulator to allow behavioral scientists to document reaction times, trailing distances and other driving behaviors in conjunction with nondriving tasks.
Distracted driving accounts for 6,000 fatalities a year, Drews said, and cell phones are the most common distraction in a growing array of on-board electronics, like entertainment and GPS systems and laptops.
Public-safety advocates say the U. experiments inform public policy discussions and help quantify the real costs of distracted driving.
"We can take this data, combine it with prevalence information and estimate how many crashes are caused by text messaging. Legislators need to know that stuff," said David Teater, senior director for transportation safety initiatives at the National Safety Council.
The federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration uses street observations made in daylight and good weather to estimate the prevalence of cell phone use behind the wheel. These estimates cannot distinguish between those who are dialing a call, texting, or e-mailing, but they figure 11 percent of the driving public is using a cell phone at any given time. A small minority was seen manipulating the keys, leading observers to estimate that one in 100 motorists at this moment is jabbing phone buttons rather than looking at the road, Teater said.
The U. researchers selected 20 students, ages 19 to 23, to participate in the latest study as drivers, and 20 friends to engage in a texted conversation with the drivers as they piloted the simulator. Nearly all the participants, who used their own phones for the experiments, said they text while driving more than once a week.
"We wanted to mimic actual texting, which is something you do with someone you know," Drews said. "We gave them the task to coordinate evening activities. We wanted them to plan the evening using text messaging, something very typical."
Researchers found the texting drivers' reactions times slowed by 30 percent (versus nine percent for those talking on a phone). The distance from the car in front of them was more varied, they inadvertently changed lanes, and sometimes rammed cars in front of them. Six of the seven collisions that occurred during the study involved a texter.
While more states are banning texting while driving, Teaters suspects texting is "escalating at a dramatic rate," and not just among young drivers. Even the most well-meaning people find the message tone an irresistible cue to pick up the phone.
"We believe there is an addictive quality to this," he said. "It's almost a Pavlovian response."
Monday, December 21, 2009
Man on sidewalk struck by van; cops think driver distracted by cell phone
From BND.com:
A man , 51, is in critical condition after getting struck by a van while standing on a sidewalk in North St. Louis.
The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the 8300 block of Halls Ferry Road.
Police think the driver, 23, bent down to pick up a cell phone and lost control of the vehicle. She was ticketed for careless and imprudent driving and could be facing more charges.
A man , 51, is in critical condition after getting struck by a van while standing on a sidewalk in North St. Louis.
The accident happened Saturday afternoon in the 8300 block of Halls Ferry Road.
Police think the driver, 23, bent down to pick up a cell phone and lost control of the vehicle. She was ticketed for careless and imprudent driving and could be facing more charges.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Family seeks texting ban on roads
From HCNONLINE.com:
The family of a man who died when his motorcycle was struck by the vehicle of a driver reading a cell phone text message wants texting while driving to be outlawed in Texas.
Recent legislation prohibits any use of cell phones in school zones throughout Texas and for drivers under 17 with restricted licenses. Efforts to ban or reduce any use of cell phones while driving, however, withered in various committees of the Texas Legislature last session.
Jonathan David Porter, 22, of New Caney, was sentenced in the 435th state District Court of Judge Michael Seiler to 90 days in the Montgomery County Jail after pleading guilty Thursday to the felony charges of criminally negligent homicide and failure to stop and render aid. Porter left the scene of a fatal wreck March 16 that killed Douglas Allen Jr., of Splendora.
Allen was attempting a left turn in front of the Porter Sports Bar on Loop 494 around 8 p.m. when the motorcycle was struck from behind by a 2006 Honda sedan driven by Porter. The impact pushed Allen’s 2002 Harley-Davidson motorcycle into oncoming traffic.
Allen, whose wife worked at the sports bar, then was hit by a Chevy Tahoe.
Just before he hit Allen’s motorcycle, Porter was reading a text message that had come in on his cell phone, which he had placed on the passenger seat, said Tay Bond, Porter’s attorney.
“When someone sent him a text message he heard come in on his phone ... he momentarily looked at his phone to discern what it was,” Bond said. “When he looked up, Mr. Allen had slowed to turn left, with his blinker on.”
Porter was not texting when the accident occurred, Bond said.
“He was not putting in input into his phone to send a text message,” he said. “This was a tragic accident. If Mr. Porter had stayed on the scene, he would not have put himself in the position he was in.”
Porter fled the scene after hitting Allen’s motorcycle, and he abandoned his vehicle about a mile past the wreck scene, fleeing on foot into the woods, said Assistant District Attorney Jim Prewitt, who prosecuted the case.
He turned himself in to police the next day, Bond said.
“When he contacted his father, his father said, ‘When I get back into town, we are going immediately to the police,’” he said. “Mr. Porter agreed. That’s exactly what they did the next day, without benefit of an attorney.”
While Allen’s family doesn’t believe Porter was punished enough, they now want to concentrate their efforts on banning texting while driving through the state, said Connie Houchin, a longtime close friend of the family who is staying with Betty Allen, Douglas Allen’s mother.
“We know if it’s happened to us, it’s happened to others,” she said. “Last week, I saw two accidents that nearly happened in a parking lot because the drivers were texting.”
Houchin’s daughter lives in California, she said, which has a comprehensive ban on the use of handheld cell phones while driving. A ban on text messaging while driving goes into effect there Jan. 1.
California is one of six states, along with the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, that prohibit all drivers from talking on handheld devices while driving, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association (ghsa.org). Nineteen states, the District of Columbia and Guam ban text messaging for all drivers.
In addition to novice drivers, Texas also prohibits school bus drivers from all use of cell phones when students are riding.
Montgomery County legislators did not return calls seeking comment on whether they believe the Legislature should pass a statewide ban on text messaging.
But several cities in Texas, including Austin, have passed their own bans on texting while driving within city limits. It’s an issue the city of Conroe could take a look at sometime in the future, Mayor Webb Melder said.
“It’s probably a subject that will wind up crossing our paths,” he said. “Sooner or later, things come to our attention, like smoking or bad dogs.”
Porter could have faced up to 10 years in prison for the failure to stop and render aid charge, and up to two years in state jail for the charge of criminally negligent homicide, according to the Texas Penal Code.
Prosecutors had asked that Porter receive some prison time, Prewitt said.
“We felt it was the type of case that warrants incarceration,” he said. “That’s the decision the judge made, and we will certainly abide by it.”
Porter also must undergo a motorcycle awareness course and notify others who attend the course about the details of the wreck and Allen’s death, Prewitt said.
In addition to the 90 days in the Montgomery County Jail, which he is now serving, Porter received five years’ probation for criminally negligent homicide and 10 years’ probation for failure to stop and render aid – the longest period of probation the judge could give him for that charge, Bond said.
“My feeling is that the court weighed the decision of the Porter family to make Jonathan available to the police the next morning, to admit what he had done, to never deny the circumstances of the accident and to accept the responsibility for it by pleading guilty,” Bond said.
No witnesses to the accident reported any erratic driving by Porter, he said.
“The most important issue in the case is the Porter family feels extremely bad for the Allen family. Certainly the Allen family is having to deal with a lot more,” he said.
“This is a good lesson about how a moment’s distraction can have horrible, lifelong consequences.”
Something needs to be done in Texas about texting while driving, Houchin said, and it’s the Allen family’s hope that something will be done soon.
“Everything happens for a reason,” she said, “and maybe this is the reason.”
The family of a man who died when his motorcycle was struck by the vehicle of a driver reading a cell phone text message wants texting while driving to be outlawed in Texas.
Recent legislation prohibits any use of cell phones in school zones throughout Texas and for drivers under 17 with restricted licenses. Efforts to ban or reduce any use of cell phones while driving, however, withered in various committees of the Texas Legislature last session.
Jonathan David Porter, 22, of New Caney, was sentenced in the 435th state District Court of Judge Michael Seiler to 90 days in the Montgomery County Jail after pleading guilty Thursday to the felony charges of criminally negligent homicide and failure to stop and render aid. Porter left the scene of a fatal wreck March 16 that killed Douglas Allen Jr., of Splendora.
Allen was attempting a left turn in front of the Porter Sports Bar on Loop 494 around 8 p.m. when the motorcycle was struck from behind by a 2006 Honda sedan driven by Porter. The impact pushed Allen’s 2002 Harley-Davidson motorcycle into oncoming traffic.
Allen, whose wife worked at the sports bar, then was hit by a Chevy Tahoe.
Just before he hit Allen’s motorcycle, Porter was reading a text message that had come in on his cell phone, which he had placed on the passenger seat, said Tay Bond, Porter’s attorney.
“When someone sent him a text message he heard come in on his phone ... he momentarily looked at his phone to discern what it was,” Bond said. “When he looked up, Mr. Allen had slowed to turn left, with his blinker on.”
Porter was not texting when the accident occurred, Bond said.
“He was not putting in input into his phone to send a text message,” he said. “This was a tragic accident. If Mr. Porter had stayed on the scene, he would not have put himself in the position he was in.”
Porter fled the scene after hitting Allen’s motorcycle, and he abandoned his vehicle about a mile past the wreck scene, fleeing on foot into the woods, said Assistant District Attorney Jim Prewitt, who prosecuted the case.
He turned himself in to police the next day, Bond said.
“When he contacted his father, his father said, ‘When I get back into town, we are going immediately to the police,’” he said. “Mr. Porter agreed. That’s exactly what they did the next day, without benefit of an attorney.”
While Allen’s family doesn’t believe Porter was punished enough, they now want to concentrate their efforts on banning texting while driving through the state, said Connie Houchin, a longtime close friend of the family who is staying with Betty Allen, Douglas Allen’s mother.
“We know if it’s happened to us, it’s happened to others,” she said. “Last week, I saw two accidents that nearly happened in a parking lot because the drivers were texting.”
Houchin’s daughter lives in California, she said, which has a comprehensive ban on the use of handheld cell phones while driving. A ban on text messaging while driving goes into effect there Jan. 1.
California is one of six states, along with the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, that prohibit all drivers from talking on handheld devices while driving, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association (ghsa.org). Nineteen states, the District of Columbia and Guam ban text messaging for all drivers.
In addition to novice drivers, Texas also prohibits school bus drivers from all use of cell phones when students are riding.
Montgomery County legislators did not return calls seeking comment on whether they believe the Legislature should pass a statewide ban on text messaging.
But several cities in Texas, including Austin, have passed their own bans on texting while driving within city limits. It’s an issue the city of Conroe could take a look at sometime in the future, Mayor Webb Melder said.
“It’s probably a subject that will wind up crossing our paths,” he said. “Sooner or later, things come to our attention, like smoking or bad dogs.”
Porter could have faced up to 10 years in prison for the failure to stop and render aid charge, and up to two years in state jail for the charge of criminally negligent homicide, according to the Texas Penal Code.
Prosecutors had asked that Porter receive some prison time, Prewitt said.
“We felt it was the type of case that warrants incarceration,” he said. “That’s the decision the judge made, and we will certainly abide by it.”
Porter also must undergo a motorcycle awareness course and notify others who attend the course about the details of the wreck and Allen’s death, Prewitt said.
In addition to the 90 days in the Montgomery County Jail, which he is now serving, Porter received five years’ probation for criminally negligent homicide and 10 years’ probation for failure to stop and render aid – the longest period of probation the judge could give him for that charge, Bond said.
“My feeling is that the court weighed the decision of the Porter family to make Jonathan available to the police the next morning, to admit what he had done, to never deny the circumstances of the accident and to accept the responsibility for it by pleading guilty,” Bond said.
No witnesses to the accident reported any erratic driving by Porter, he said.
“The most important issue in the case is the Porter family feels extremely bad for the Allen family. Certainly the Allen family is having to deal with a lot more,” he said.
“This is a good lesson about how a moment’s distraction can have horrible, lifelong consequences.”
Something needs to be done in Texas about texting while driving, Houchin said, and it’s the Allen family’s hope that something will be done soon.
“Everything happens for a reason,” she said, “and maybe this is the reason.”
Crash has Vaca couple issuing call for caution
From TheReport.com
It was over in a matter of seconds, but the crash that totaled their 18-year-old grandson's car keeps playing over and over in the minds of Vacaville couple Sheila and Carnus Ratliff.
And not just because the entire thing was captured on a surveillance camera at their home.
The recent incident happened when a driver traveling north on Davis Street rammed his black pickup truck into the back of a Toyota Corolla, driven by the Ratliff's grandson. The car then barreled toward three teens walking on the sidewalk, pushing one of them.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
It's what the Ratliffs say the driver said afterward that haunts them.
They say he admitted he was looking at his cell phone and didn't even have time to react before he hit the car, which was stopped to let the pedestrians pass before turning into the Ratliff's driveway.
"It was like a cannon going off," said Sheila Ratliff. "It was a miracle that no one was hurt."
Seeing vehicles speed by their home on Davis Street is not a new thing for the Ratliffs, who have lived in the house for 33 years.
"It doesn't matter which direction they're going, we've had several accidents," said Carnus Ratliff. "The road is so long and straight, it's easy for them to speed."
If an accident doesn't occur, drivers are cussing at them or flipping them off, just as they pull into their own driveway.
"I've seen people drive on the wrong side of the road just to pass us," Sheila said. "Wemoved here when we were surrounded by country property and we don't want to move."
Each time she looks at the surveillance video, Sheila is shocked.
"Slow down and don't talk on your cell phone," she said. "This was preventable."
Vacaville Traffic Sgt. Terry Cates said even though drivers were warned 18 months in advance of a new law that passed in July 2008 -- which prohibits people from driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking -- they're still talking on their phones.
"We see it everyday," he said. "It's hard not to go a block without seeing someone using their cell phone."
Cates said more than 2,000 citations have been issued just for cell phone use, but there is more to it than just handing out tickets.
"It's our goal to find a balance and combine the enforcement with education," he said.
Cates said that so far, only minor wrecks have occurred as a result of someone using a cell phone.
"We have had a few, but, thankfully, they've been minor accidents," he said. "I wouldn't say using a cell phone is the cause of traffic accidents, but it's definitely a contributing factor."
As for the Ratliffs, they want people to pay attention.
"If we save one life because someone didn't use their cell phone, then this is worth it," Sheila said.
It was over in a matter of seconds, but the crash that totaled their 18-year-old grandson's car keeps playing over and over in the minds of Vacaville couple Sheila and Carnus Ratliff.
And not just because the entire thing was captured on a surveillance camera at their home.
The recent incident happened when a driver traveling north on Davis Street rammed his black pickup truck into the back of a Toyota Corolla, driven by the Ratliff's grandson. The car then barreled toward three teens walking on the sidewalk, pushing one of them.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
It's what the Ratliffs say the driver said afterward that haunts them.
They say he admitted he was looking at his cell phone and didn't even have time to react before he hit the car, which was stopped to let the pedestrians pass before turning into the Ratliff's driveway.
"It was like a cannon going off," said Sheila Ratliff. "It was a miracle that no one was hurt."
Seeing vehicles speed by their home on Davis Street is not a new thing for the Ratliffs, who have lived in the house for 33 years.
"It doesn't matter which direction they're going, we've had several accidents," said Carnus Ratliff. "The road is so long and straight, it's easy for them to speed."
If an accident doesn't occur, drivers are cussing at them or flipping them off, just as they pull into their own driveway.
"I've seen people drive on the wrong side of the road just to pass us," Sheila said. "Wemoved here when we were surrounded by country property and we don't want to move."
Each time she looks at the surveillance video, Sheila is shocked.
"Slow down and don't talk on your cell phone," she said. "This was preventable."
Vacaville Traffic Sgt. Terry Cates said even though drivers were warned 18 months in advance of a new law that passed in July 2008 -- which prohibits people from driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking -- they're still talking on their phones.
"We see it everyday," he said. "It's hard not to go a block without seeing someone using their cell phone."
Cates said more than 2,000 citations have been issued just for cell phone use, but there is more to it than just handing out tickets.
"It's our goal to find a balance and combine the enforcement with education," he said.
Cates said that so far, only minor wrecks have occurred as a result of someone using a cell phone.
"We have had a few, but, thankfully, they've been minor accidents," he said. "I wouldn't say using a cell phone is the cause of traffic accidents, but it's definitely a contributing factor."
As for the Ratliffs, they want people to pay attention.
"If we save one life because someone didn't use their cell phone, then this is worth it," Sheila said.
Teen talking on cell phone dies in crash
From ktvb.com:
Posted on December 5, 2009 at 8:51 PM
NORTH SPOKANE COUNTY -- A 16-year-old girl from Nine Mile is dead after losing control of her car in north Spokane County Friday night.
Investigators say she was on her cell phone when she hit an icy spot, rolled her Jeep, and hit a tree around the 4500 block of West Monroe Road.
The Spokane County's Sheriff's Office says the girl had only had her license for about three weeks.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Woman Admits Cell Phone Led To Fatal Crash
From WLWT.com:
CINCINNATI -- A Bethel woman admitted Monday that she killed a man in an Anderson Township car crash while she looked for her cell phone.
Katrina Kimberly pleaded guilty to one count of vehicular homicide, which carries a possible 180-day jail term.Her sentencing was scheduled for next month, and police cited her Saturday on an additional charge of driving under a suspended sentence.Police said Kimberly cross the center lane July 3 on westbound Kellogg Avenue, and her car collided head-on with a vehicle driven by 53-year-old Arthur Stines.The Walnut Hills man was killed and his brother injured in the crash, which also involved a third car that was unable to avoid the wreck.Kimberly admitted in court that she had bent down to pick up her cell phone, which had fallen to the floor.
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5th graders working to stop drivers from using cell phones
From waff.com:
HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - "Don't text and drive" is the message from a 5th grade robotics class hoping to encourage drivers to turn off their cell phone before getting behind the wheel.
Using a cell phone while driving quadruples the risk of having an accident, and 35 percent of drivers polled say they feel unsafe on the roads because of others using their cell phones.
A group of kids not quite ready to hit the road said it's time drivers take responsibility.
The 5th graders from Jones Valley Elementary School's Wise Drive Robotics Class asked Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle to sign a petition to make drivers aware of cell phone dangers.
"Americans need to acknowledge that text messaging and cell phone use is unsafe," said robotics sponsor Kristy Dunn.
Dunn said her students chose the topic of cell phone dangers after hearing of bad accidents involving their use on the road. She said she hopes this campaign will set a good example.
"I've got a 13-year-old he's texting all the time," she said. "I don't want him to be 16 and think it's okay to text while he's driving. It's just too dangerous."
Dunn's students have spent countless hours researching the statistics, even partnering with a company in Canada that has come up with a device that will actually stop a cell phone from working in a driver's hands.
"It acts like a cell phone tower," said Jones valley student William Joiner. "It says to cell signals, 'Come to me,' and it blocks it."
That lessens the chances of being involved in a serious accident. Wyatt Dunn isn't old enough to drive, but he sees the dangers he'll face soon.
"Your talking on the cell phone, parent isn't noticing [other motorists] and you are like, 'Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk,'" he said. "You have the same reaction time as a 70-year-old."
Two students will attend Thursday's Alabama Distracted Driving Summit. They'll take with them the mayor's proclamation and research in hopes legislators will consider changing cell phone laws in Alabama.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Crash victims seek crackdown on texting drivers
DOVER -- David and Linda Kubert remember everything from that September day.
They’d been out together on their Harley, riding along a winding road in Morris County.
They can picture the curve ahead, the pickup truck coming toward them. They can see the young driver through the windshield, his elbows on the steering wheel, his face angled down toward what police would later determine was his cell phone.
"The next minute we were on the ground," Linda Kubert said.
Both she and her husband lost a leg in the crash. The teenage driver received three tickets that could result in a fine.
Nearly a dozen surgeries later, the Kuberts have begun a campaign to put more teeth into penalties for motorists who flout New Jersey’s ban on using cell phones without hands-free equipment.
The Dover couple, both 56, say they’re particularly troubled by what they consider the weak punishment for those who text-message behind the wheel, an activity shown by research to be far more dangerous than driving drunk.
"You take somebody’s life or you hurt someone, I think you should go to jail," Linda Kubert said. "We’re in jail, kind of. We’re prisoners here, basically."
The crash that changed the Kuberts’ life occurred Sept. 21 in Mine Hill, not far from their home. The Kuberts were on their motorcycle, with David in front. In the seconds afterward, David Kubert knew he was in desperate shape.
"My leg is off," he recalls crying out to his wife. Then, seeing her sprawled on the pavement, he struggled to crawl toward her.
They underwent more than six hours of surgery at Morristown Memorial Hospital. Doctors were uncertain whether David Kubert would live.
The driver of the pickup truck, 18-year-old Kyle Best of Wharton, was issued summonses by a Wharton police officer for using a cell phone without a hands-free device, careless driving, and making an unsafe lane change. Best did not return a call for comment, and the family turned away a reporter who knocked on the door Friday.
Authorities, saying the case remains under investigation, have not specified whether Best was talking or text-messaging at the time of the crash. Either way, the Kuberts contend, the teen was clearly distracted when he crossed the center line.
Their hope is that with stronger penalties in place, motorists will think twice before picking up the phone. The fine for texting or talking without a hands-free device now stands at $100. "One hundred dollars doesn’t even pay for our medicine," Linda Kubert said, referring to the two dozen pill bottles that sit atop the refrigerator in the couple’s home. "What’s $100 to somebody these days?"
LAG TIMES
The Kuberts’ campaign, like their recovery, is in its early stages. David Kubert has written a letter to state Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester), who is expected to become Senate president next year. Kubert said he plans to write to several more legislators, asking them to toughen the law.
"There have to be stricter penalties," David Kubert said. "That’s the only thing that is going to stop it."
Researchers have long warned about the perils of talking on a cell phone while driving. More recently, attention has turned to texting, a far more immersive activity than speaking.
One study by the Transport Research Laboratory, a Britain-based group that examines road and vehicle safety, found that a driver’s reaction time slowed 35 percent when text-messaging. By contrast, reaction time slowed 12 percent among motorists whose blood alcohol level was at the legal limit.
A separate study released in July by researchers at Virginia Tech found that motorists who text are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or a near-crash than drivers who are not distracted.
New Jersey is one of 19 states banning text-messaging for all drivers, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, but only in Utah do penalties approach the punishment for driving under the influence.
Under Utah’s law, which took effect in May, someone caught texting and driving faces up to three months in jail and a fine up to $750. If an accident causes injury or death, the penalty may be increased to as much as 15 years in prison, with a fine up to $10,000.
New Jersey law enforcement agencies issue an average of 10,000 citations each month for cell phone violations, said Pam Fischer, director of the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety. The problem, Fischer said, is that nearly everyone today uses cell phones in their cars.
And despite the dangers, many of them are texting. In a survey by the AAA Foundation, one in seven drivers admitted to texting behind the wheel. Another survey, released just last week, found the problem to be even worse among the youngest drivers.
According to the survey, conducted by the Pew Research Center, a quarter of teenage drivers admitted to texting, and almost half said they’d been passengers when another teen texted behind the wheel.
READJUSTED LIVES
The Kuberts recognize the difficulty of forcing change, but they’re approaching it with the same determination they’ve applied to their own recovery.
They are recuperating at a relatively fast pace, and doctors believe both will be able to walk again with the help of prosthetics. So far they have avoided infection.
Throughout the grueling process, they’ve learned how much they miss little pleasures.
"Taking a shower, you know," Linda Kubert said. "Getting up out of bed at night. You can’t just get up out of bed. Chasing around my grandchildren. We can’t go to the grocery store."
They know that time will come. David Kubert, a Verizon employee, said he plans to return to work. He’s equally eager to get back on a motorcycle.
Both he and his wife are members of the North Jersey Legends HOG chapter, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle club. Over the summer, they rode through Maine, New Hampshire and Canada.
They say they look forward to the day when they can climb on a Harley together, perhaps knowing their advocacy work has prevented a lost limb or a lost life.
"Nobody thinks it can happen to them," Linda Kubert said. "We don’t want to see this happen to someone else."
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Jay Anderson: Distracted driving can end lives, and it can destroy them too
From News-Press.com:
Sept. 13 marked the 110th anniversary of the demise of Mr. Henry H. Bliss. Mr. Bliss had just stepped of the trolley and turned to assist a female passenger when he was struck by the driver of a horseless carriage. Transported to a local hospital he died from crushing injuries to the head and upper body making him the first person killed by a motor vehicle in the western hemisphere.
Since that autumn day, more than 25 million people worldwide have lost their lives in motor vehicle collisions, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, 110 people a day die on our roads and highways, that's one death every 13 minutes. Sadly, crashes remain the leading cause of death and long term disability, including brain and spinal cord injuries for ages 1 to 44.
As a society, driving is the only thing we do that makes us all the same. Motor vehicles are the true equalizer. Remember driving is a privilege not a right, when you're behind the wheel you are responsible for a 4,000-pound potential weapon capable of producing death and serious injuries when operated in a reckless manner.
We tend to dwell on the deaths, but often overlook the survivors of a life-altering collision. Crashes don't discriminate! Everyone is at risk, from a newborn properly restrained in a car seat, to a bicyclist or pedestrian in the crosswalk, even a family on their way to dinner.
•July, 2007. Lynn Grant and her daughters Shannon and Hannah were on the way to a birthday party when they were struck by a distracted driver, who ran a red light driving 55 mph. Hannah, 6, took the brunt of the crash and suffered a traumatic brain injury, and is now cared for by her family, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Hannah wears a diaper, can't feed herself, talk, or walk. The driver responsible sentenced Hannah to life in a wheelchair.
•January, 2008. Ten vehicles are stopped at a red light on Highway 27. A tractor trailer driver fails to see the red signal and plows into the vehicles, killing two and critically injuring six. Heather Hurd, 26 years old, and her fiance, Patrick, were on the way to the wedding planner. Heather was killed instantly and Patrick critically injured.
The professional truck driver was texting his driver log to his company at the time of the crash. Heather Hurd’s parents, who were in Florida to help plan a wedding, now faced the daunting task of planning their daughter’s funeral.
Think about the impact of these two crashes, how quickly life's direction changed and how many lives were affected. Innocent people, who have paid the ultimate price for someone else's failure to drive safely.
Ever since the introduction of the automobile, distractions have always been a major factor in the safe operation of a vehicle.
Distracted driving puts other drivers, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians in the bull's-eye.
Given the number of distractions in these days of electronic technology, along with eating, grooming and dealing with small children, society needs to accept the fact that distracted driving has become a public health threat.
There are two questions we should all ask ourselves before we decide to drive distracted.
• Is it necessary?
• Is it worth the risk?
Don't let distracted driving become your nightmare. Stay Alert, Stay Focused, Stay Alive …. Just Drive!
Mobile phone use probed in crash
From CBC News:
Police are investigating whether mobile phone use led to an accident involving six high school students Monday. (CBC)Winnipeg police are trying to determine if cellphone use played a role in a crash involving six students Monday.
The Shaftesbury High School students were injured when the Jeep they were travelling in flipped over on Grant Avenue at about 12:45 p.m.
The five youths and one 18-year-old adult were treated at hospital and released.
Police say speed may have been a factor in the crash. It appears the 18-year-old driver lost control then hit the centre median curb, which caused the vehicle to roll.
Investigators also are looking into the possibility the driver was talking on a cellphone at the time of the crash.
Maggie Evoy, a driver's ed instructor at school, said she drove by as the students were being loaded into an ambulance, and recognized the Jeep.
"When I found who it was I just, I couldn't believe it," she said. "It was like, oh no, because a couple of the kids that were in that car I know. It's really hard … I really feel for the families right now."
Evoy said the driver was on his cellphone talking to a friend back at the school when the call went dead. She said driver did take the driver's course at the school and that students are taught about the dangers of using cellphones behind the wheel.
Police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said not everyone in the Jeep was wearing a seatbelt and it is "quite miraculous" the injuries aren't more serious.
Cell phone distracts crash driver
From LeavenworthTimes.com:
Leavenworth, Kan. -
A Leavenworth man was distracted by his cell phone when he crashed into a parked car early Sunday morning on 10th Avenue, a police spokesman said.
The driver and one of his passengers were treated at the hospital, according to Maj. Robert Smith, deputy chief of the Leavenworth Police Department.
The crash was reported at about 2:25 a.m. Sunday south of Quincy Street.
A 19-year-old Leavenworth man was using a cell phone as he drove south on 10th Avenue and crashed into the parked vehicle, according to Smith.
The man was traveling with an 18-year-old Leavenworth man and a 14-year-old Platte City, Mo., girl. The girl was taken to Cushing Hospital to be treated for a contusion over her left eye, Smith said.
The driver transported himself to Cushing Hospital to be treated for a laceration to his lower lip, Smith said.
The man and his two passengers were cited by police for not wearing seat belts. The driver also was cited for inattentive driving, according to Smith.
Leavenworth, Kan. -
A Leavenworth man was distracted by his cell phone when he crashed into a parked car early Sunday morning on 10th Avenue, a police spokesman said.
The driver and one of his passengers were treated at the hospital, according to Maj. Robert Smith, deputy chief of the Leavenworth Police Department.
The crash was reported at about 2:25 a.m. Sunday south of Quincy Street.
A 19-year-old Leavenworth man was using a cell phone as he drove south on 10th Avenue and crashed into the parked vehicle, according to Smith.
The man was traveling with an 18-year-old Leavenworth man and a 14-year-old Platte City, Mo., girl. The girl was taken to Cushing Hospital to be treated for a contusion over her left eye, Smith said.
The driver transported himself to Cushing Hospital to be treated for a laceration to his lower lip, Smith said.
The man and his two passengers were cited by police for not wearing seat belts. The driver also was cited for inattentive driving, according to Smith.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Texan drives $1 million sports car into marshes
From MSNBC.com:
Driver blames bird, dropped cellphone; Bugatti Veyron is world's priciest car
LA MARQUE, Texas - A man blamed a low-flying pelican and a dropped cell phone for his veering his million-dollar sports car off a road and into a salt marsh near Galveston.
The accident happened about 3 p.m. Wednesday on the frontage road of Interstate 45 northbound in La Marque, about 35 miles southeast of Houston.
The Lufkin, Texas, man told of driving his luxury, French-built Bugatti Veyron when the bird distracted him, said La Marque police Lt. Greg Gilchrist.
The motorist dropped his cell phone, reached to pick it up and veered off the road and into the salt marsh. The car was half-submerged in the brine about 20 feet from the road when police arrived.
Gilchrist said he doesn't know if the car was salvageable, but in his words, "Salt water isn't good for anything." He says the man, whose identity hasn't been released, was not injured.
Celebrity driver
The police declined to release the driver's name, although the incident has drawn a great deal of attention on his vehicle.
The Houston Chronicle reported the Texan has become something of a celebrity. He reportedly told the Texas City wrecker driver who towed his car that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called him Wednesday, along with several other celebrities.
“He said he was getting so many calls that he finally stopped answering his phone,” said wrecker driver Gilbert Harrison of MCH Truck and Auto, which is storing the car.
But Harrison said the driver seemed to take his very expensive mistake in stride.
“He was calm,” Harrison told the Chronicle. “If it had been me, I'd have been cussing, but he was calm. I imagine inside he was probably pretty upset.”
The Bugatti Veyron is the fastest and most expensive production car in the world.
A 2006 Bugatti Veyron was recently offered for sale in Jonesboro, Ark., for $1.25 million.
Driver blames bird, dropped cellphone; Bugatti Veyron is world's priciest car
LA MARQUE, Texas - A man blamed a low-flying pelican and a dropped cell phone for his veering his million-dollar sports car off a road and into a salt marsh near Galveston.
The accident happened about 3 p.m. Wednesday on the frontage road of Interstate 45 northbound in La Marque, about 35 miles southeast of Houston.
The Lufkin, Texas, man told of driving his luxury, French-built Bugatti Veyron when the bird distracted him, said La Marque police Lt. Greg Gilchrist.
The motorist dropped his cell phone, reached to pick it up and veered off the road and into the salt marsh. The car was half-submerged in the brine about 20 feet from the road when police arrived.
Gilchrist said he doesn't know if the car was salvageable, but in his words, "Salt water isn't good for anything." He says the man, whose identity hasn't been released, was not injured.
Celebrity driver
The police declined to release the driver's name, although the incident has drawn a great deal of attention on his vehicle.
The Houston Chronicle reported the Texan has become something of a celebrity. He reportedly told the Texas City wrecker driver who towed his car that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called him Wednesday, along with several other celebrities.
“He said he was getting so many calls that he finally stopped answering his phone,” said wrecker driver Gilbert Harrison of MCH Truck and Auto, which is storing the car.
But Harrison said the driver seemed to take his very expensive mistake in stride.
“He was calm,” Harrison told the Chronicle. “If it had been me, I'd have been cussing, but he was calm. I imagine inside he was probably pretty upset.”
The Bugatti Veyron is the fastest and most expensive production car in the world.
A 2006 Bugatti Veyron was recently offered for sale in Jonesboro, Ark., for $1.25 million.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Sun, cell phone believed factors in fatal crash
From AccessNorthGa.com:
CUMMING - Investigators believe a setting, blinding sun and use of a cell phone by one of the drivers may have contributed to a fatal accident Monday involving a car and a Forsyth County school bus.
According to Cpl. David Garrison, Traffic Specialist with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, the victim was Isabel Mora Zavala, 45, Pilgrim Road, Cumming.
Cpl. Garrison said that Zavala was west-bound on Spot Road in her 2006 Nissan Sentra. She stopped at the stop sign at the intersection of Spot Road and Dr. Bramblett Road, Cpl. Garrison said, then turned left into the path of the school bus. The bus collided with the Nissan on the driver’s side. Ms. Zavala died instantly.
The bus driver, 47 year-old Holly Ann Charles, of Free Home Highway in Canton, was not injured. The only passenger on the school bus was Ms. Charles’ 16 year-old son. He was not injured.
Cpl. Garrison said it appears that Ms. Zavala was using her cell phone at the time of the crash, which may have distracted her attention. She was also driving into a bright afternoon sun, which may have affected her vision, Garrison added.
The wreck happened at 4:40 p.m.
CUMMING - Investigators believe a setting, blinding sun and use of a cell phone by one of the drivers may have contributed to a fatal accident Monday involving a car and a Forsyth County school bus.
According to Cpl. David Garrison, Traffic Specialist with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, the victim was Isabel Mora Zavala, 45, Pilgrim Road, Cumming.
Cpl. Garrison said that Zavala was west-bound on Spot Road in her 2006 Nissan Sentra. She stopped at the stop sign at the intersection of Spot Road and Dr. Bramblett Road, Cpl. Garrison said, then turned left into the path of the school bus. The bus collided with the Nissan on the driver’s side. Ms. Zavala died instantly.
The bus driver, 47 year-old Holly Ann Charles, of Free Home Highway in Canton, was not injured. The only passenger on the school bus was Ms. Charles’ 16 year-old son. He was not injured.
Cpl. Garrison said it appears that Ms. Zavala was using her cell phone at the time of the crash, which may have distracted her attention. She was also driving into a bright afternoon sun, which may have affected her vision, Garrison added.
The wreck happened at 4:40 p.m.
Oklahoma automobile accident - Talking on cell phone causes 3-vehicle wreck
Legal news for Oklahoma automobile accident attorneys. A teen talking on his cell phone caused a multiple-vehicle crash.
Oklahoma automobile accident lawyers alerts- A three-car crash on Danforth Road involved a school bus.
Oklahoma City, OK—A teenager who was talking on his cell phone caused a multiple vehicle pile-up in Edmond. The three-car crash happened on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 around 8:15 a.m., at the East Danforth Road-Boulevard Avenue intersection in Edmond, as reported by The Edmond Sun.
The Edmond Police Department reported Dillion Hart, 17, of Edmond was traveling in a Chevy Trailblazer westbound on Danforth when he turned into the path of an eastbound 2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette. The Trailblazer and the Oldsmobile collided at the intersection and both vehicles were sent careening over the center divider, and into a 2009 Honda Accord and a school bus. The school bus was transporting six children and the driver, Monty Childs, 42, to John Ross Elementary School when the collision occurred. Thankfully, no children riding in the bus were injured. Both Childs and the driver of the Oldsmobile, Diana Kay Hopkins, 40, of Edmond, sustained injuries and were both transported via private vehicles to Edmond Medical Center for treatment. The driver of the Honda, Lisa Davis, 46, of Edmond, apparently did not sustain any injuries in the wreck. Hart admitted to police officials that he was talking on his cellular phone when the accident occurred. Hart was issued a traffic violation for failure to yield at an intersection.
Oklahoma automobile accident lawyers alerts- A three-car crash on Danforth Road involved a school bus.
Oklahoma City, OK—A teenager who was talking on his cell phone caused a multiple vehicle pile-up in Edmond. The three-car crash happened on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 around 8:15 a.m., at the East Danforth Road-Boulevard Avenue intersection in Edmond, as reported by The Edmond Sun.
The Edmond Police Department reported Dillion Hart, 17, of Edmond was traveling in a Chevy Trailblazer westbound on Danforth when he turned into the path of an eastbound 2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette. The Trailblazer and the Oldsmobile collided at the intersection and both vehicles were sent careening over the center divider, and into a 2009 Honda Accord and a school bus. The school bus was transporting six children and the driver, Monty Childs, 42, to John Ross Elementary School when the collision occurred. Thankfully, no children riding in the bus were injured. Both Childs and the driver of the Oldsmobile, Diana Kay Hopkins, 40, of Edmond, sustained injuries and were both transported via private vehicles to Edmond Medical Center for treatment. The driver of the Honda, Lisa Davis, 46, of Edmond, apparently did not sustain any injuries in the wreck. Hart admitted to police officials that he was talking on his cellular phone when the accident occurred. Hart was issued a traffic violation for failure to yield at an intersection.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Cumming woman killed in crash with school bus
From ajc.com:
A 45-year-old woman was killed Monday afternoon when her car collided with a Forsyth County school bus. Isabel Mora Zavala, of Pilgrim Road in Cumming, died in the 4:40 p.m. crash, which occurred at Spot and Dr. Bramblett roads. The bus driver and lone passenger on the bus were not hurt.
Zavala apparently was using her cell phone at the time of the crash, and her vision may have been affected by the bright sun, said Cpl. David Garrison of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. Garrison said Zavala died at the scene.
Zavala was westbound on Spot Road in her 2006 Nissan Sentra. After stopping at a stop sign, she turned left on Dr. Bramblett Road into the path of the school bus, Garrison said. The bus hit the driver's side of Zavala's Nissan.
No charges are expected to be filed.
A 45-year-old woman was killed Monday afternoon when her car collided with a Forsyth County school bus. Isabel Mora Zavala, of Pilgrim Road in Cumming, died in the 4:40 p.m. crash, which occurred at Spot and Dr. Bramblett roads. The bus driver and lone passenger on the bus were not hurt.
Zavala apparently was using her cell phone at the time of the crash, and her vision may have been affected by the bright sun, said Cpl. David Garrison of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. Garrison said Zavala died at the scene.
Zavala was westbound on Spot Road in her 2006 Nissan Sentra. After stopping at a stop sign, she turned left on Dr. Bramblett Road into the path of the school bus, Garrison said. The bus hit the driver's side of Zavala's Nissan.
No charges are expected to be filed.
Cell phone contributes to crash involving school bus
From EdmondSum.com:
Mark Schlachtenhaufen
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND — An Edmond teen talking on his cell phone caused a three-car accident involving a school bus Tuesday morning, police said.
Glynda Chu, spokeswoman for the Edmond Police Department, said an Edmond school bus was traveling to John Ross Elementary School when it was struck by a 2004 Chevy Trailblazer being driven by Dillon Hart, 17, of Edmond, shortly after 8 a.m.
The accident occurred at the East Danforth Road-Boulevard Avenue intersection. Hart was driving westbound on Danforth and turned in front of a 2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette traveling eastbound on Danforth, Chu said.
Chu said the first car in line at the intersection was a 2009 Honda Accord driven by an Edmond woman. The school bus was in line behind the Honda and was hit head-on, she said. The Honda was sideswiped.
“There were six children and the bus driver on the bus,” Chu said. “No children were injured. The momentum had slowed so that by the time the bus was impacted the children reported they only felt a bump.”
Chu said the bus driver, Monty Childs, 42, and the driver of the Oldsmobile suffered minor injuries and were transported by private vehicles to Edmond Medical Center. Hart admitted to talking on his cell phone at the time of the crash, and he was ticketed for failure to yield at an intersection, police said.
Childs said his bus was waiting at the light for the light to turn green when he saw the SUV and minivan collide. A car bounced off another car and ran into the bus, he said.
“No one went by ambulance, which is a good thing,” Childs said.
The momentum of the crash carried the vehicles over the divider curb at the intersection to traffic waiting at the light northbound on Boulevard, Chu said.
Mark Schlachtenhaufen
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND — An Edmond teen talking on his cell phone caused a three-car accident involving a school bus Tuesday morning, police said.
Glynda Chu, spokeswoman for the Edmond Police Department, said an Edmond school bus was traveling to John Ross Elementary School when it was struck by a 2004 Chevy Trailblazer being driven by Dillon Hart, 17, of Edmond, shortly after 8 a.m.
The accident occurred at the East Danforth Road-Boulevard Avenue intersection. Hart was driving westbound on Danforth and turned in front of a 2000 Oldsmobile Silhouette traveling eastbound on Danforth, Chu said.
Chu said the first car in line at the intersection was a 2009 Honda Accord driven by an Edmond woman. The school bus was in line behind the Honda and was hit head-on, she said. The Honda was sideswiped.
“There were six children and the bus driver on the bus,” Chu said. “No children were injured. The momentum had slowed so that by the time the bus was impacted the children reported they only felt a bump.”
Chu said the bus driver, Monty Childs, 42, and the driver of the Oldsmobile suffered minor injuries and were transported by private vehicles to Edmond Medical Center. Hart admitted to talking on his cell phone at the time of the crash, and he was ticketed for failure to yield at an intersection, police said.
Childs said his bus was waiting at the light for the light to turn green when he saw the SUV and minivan collide. A car bounced off another car and ran into the bus, he said.
“No one went by ambulance, which is a good thing,” Childs said.
The momentum of the crash carried the vehicles over the divider curb at the intersection to traffic waiting at the light northbound on Boulevard, Chu said.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Texting and driving is dangerous
From Vernal.com:
“I learned that I can’t really text while driving,” said Uintah High school student Staci Zapata. “I can’t lie, I think that I have texted once while driving. I usually have my sister text for me. But I will never do it again.”
Such were the comments from high school students who were able to test their texting skills while driving a golf cart through a marked, coned off corridor outside the high school.
Under the direction of Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Kason Goodrich, students were instructed to text a message into their phone while driving the course set up with stop signs, turns and corners.
“I hit 22 cones and ran two stop signs and a yield sign,” stated Kalab Ford. “I learned that you don’t text and drive. Someone can get hurt.”
Johnathan Vega stated that you shouldn’t text and drive as it is definitely a hazard.
Shae Galley earned the title of hitting the most cones – 33 – during her run at texting and driving the course. “This is something that is super super dangerous,” said Galley. “This is something that effects everyone. I believe that I am going to quit as of now.”
Trooper Goodrich explained that as part of the zero fatality program in Utah, texting and driving awareness is one of the training modules that is being taken to high schools throughout the state.
“Last week’s death in Jensen as well as another on in the Basin during the past year were caused by someone texting,” explained Goodrich. “Texting and driving is more dangerous than driving DUI and we need to get this message out, especially to the young people, even though more and more older people are now texting while driving.”
“We have students hitting as many as 33 cones here and these students are good texters!,” said Goodrich. “Texting while driving is just plain dangerous.”
After a crash that killed two scientists in Logan, plus many others involving distracted driving, Utah passed the nation’s toughest law to crack down on texting behind the wheel. Offenders now face up to 15 years in prison.
The new law took effect in May and penalizes a texting driver who causes a fatality as harshly as a drunken driver who kills someone. The law basically states that a crash caused by a multitasking motorist is no longer considered an “accident.” Instead, such a crash would now be considered inherently reckless driving.
“It’s a willful act,” said Lyle Hillyard, a Republican state senator and a big supporter of the new measure. “If you choose to drink and drive or if you choose to text and drive, you’re assuming the same risk.”
Goodrich stated that studies show that talking on a cellphone while driving is as risky as driving with a .08 blood alcohol level — generally the standard for drunken driving — and that the risk of driving while texting is at least twice that dangerous. Research also shows that many people are aware that the behavior is risky, but they assume others are the problem.
Now, in Utah, the law now assumes people understand the risks.
The law “is very noteworthy,” said Anne Teigen, a policy specialist with the National Conference of State Legislatures, an organization of state legislators. “They have raised the bar and said texting while driving is not just irresponsible, and it’s not just a bad idea — it is negligent.”
Ray LaHood, the transportation secretary, has said drivers should not text behind the wheel, and several United States senators recently introduced legislation to force states to ban texting while driving.
“I learned that I can’t really text while driving,” said Uintah High school student Staci Zapata. “I can’t lie, I think that I have texted once while driving. I usually have my sister text for me. But I will never do it again.”
Such were the comments from high school students who were able to test their texting skills while driving a golf cart through a marked, coned off corridor outside the high school.
Under the direction of Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Kason Goodrich, students were instructed to text a message into their phone while driving the course set up with stop signs, turns and corners.
“I hit 22 cones and ran two stop signs and a yield sign,” stated Kalab Ford. “I learned that you don’t text and drive. Someone can get hurt.”
Johnathan Vega stated that you shouldn’t text and drive as it is definitely a hazard.
Shae Galley earned the title of hitting the most cones – 33 – during her run at texting and driving the course. “This is something that is super super dangerous,” said Galley. “This is something that effects everyone. I believe that I am going to quit as of now.”
Trooper Goodrich explained that as part of the zero fatality program in Utah, texting and driving awareness is one of the training modules that is being taken to high schools throughout the state.
“Last week’s death in Jensen as well as another on in the Basin during the past year were caused by someone texting,” explained Goodrich. “Texting and driving is more dangerous than driving DUI and we need to get this message out, especially to the young people, even though more and more older people are now texting while driving.”
“We have students hitting as many as 33 cones here and these students are good texters!,” said Goodrich. “Texting while driving is just plain dangerous.”
After a crash that killed two scientists in Logan, plus many others involving distracted driving, Utah passed the nation’s toughest law to crack down on texting behind the wheel. Offenders now face up to 15 years in prison.
The new law took effect in May and penalizes a texting driver who causes a fatality as harshly as a drunken driver who kills someone. The law basically states that a crash caused by a multitasking motorist is no longer considered an “accident.” Instead, such a crash would now be considered inherently reckless driving.
“It’s a willful act,” said Lyle Hillyard, a Republican state senator and a big supporter of the new measure. “If you choose to drink and drive or if you choose to text and drive, you’re assuming the same risk.”
Goodrich stated that studies show that talking on a cellphone while driving is as risky as driving with a .08 blood alcohol level — generally the standard for drunken driving — and that the risk of driving while texting is at least twice that dangerous. Research also shows that many people are aware that the behavior is risky, but they assume others are the problem.
Now, in Utah, the law now assumes people understand the risks.
The law “is very noteworthy,” said Anne Teigen, a policy specialist with the National Conference of State Legislatures, an organization of state legislators. “They have raised the bar and said texting while driving is not just irresponsible, and it’s not just a bad idea — it is negligent.”
Ray LaHood, the transportation secretary, has said drivers should not text behind the wheel, and several United States senators recently introduced legislation to force states to ban texting while driving.
Teens learn dangers of texting
From The Spectrum:
ST. GEORGE - Three years ago, Reggie Shaw was responsible for the deaths of two men as he was sending and receiving text messages while driving in Cache County.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Distracted By A Cell Phone? Some Cell Phone Users Fail To See Unicycling Clown Passing Them
From ScienceDaily.com:
ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2009) — Everyone tends to float off into space once in a while and fail to see what is sitting there right in front of them. Recently researchers decided to put the theory of “inattentional blindness” to the test: the unicycling clown test. They documented real-world examples of people who were so distracted by their cell phone use that they failed to see the bizarre occurrence of a unicycling clown passing them on the street.
The study is published in an upcoming issue of Applied Cognitive Psychology.
Compared with individuals walking alone, in pairs, or listening to their ipod, cell phone users were the group most prone to oblivious behavior: only twenty-five percent of them noticed the unicycling clown. The walkers not using a cell phone noticed the clown over fifty-percent of the time.
Furthermore, the cell phone users had difficulties performing even the simple task of walking, an action that should require relatively few cognitive resources. They walked more slowly, changed direction more often, were prone to weaving, and acknowledged other individuals more rarely.
Dr. Ira E. Hyman, Jr. at Western Washington University, head researcher of the study, says: “If people experience so much difficulty performing the task of walking when on a cell phone just think of what this means when put into the context of driving safety. People should not drive while talking on a cell phone.” Furthermore, the research shows that the level of familiarity with the person’s real-world environment does not affect their attentional awareness.
ScienceDaily (Oct. 19, 2009) — Everyone tends to float off into space once in a while and fail to see what is sitting there right in front of them. Recently researchers decided to put the theory of “inattentional blindness” to the test: the unicycling clown test. They documented real-world examples of people who were so distracted by their cell phone use that they failed to see the bizarre occurrence of a unicycling clown passing them on the street.
The study is published in an upcoming issue of Applied Cognitive Psychology.
Compared with individuals walking alone, in pairs, or listening to their ipod, cell phone users were the group most prone to oblivious behavior: only twenty-five percent of them noticed the unicycling clown. The walkers not using a cell phone noticed the clown over fifty-percent of the time.
Furthermore, the cell phone users had difficulties performing even the simple task of walking, an action that should require relatively few cognitive resources. They walked more slowly, changed direction more often, were prone to weaving, and acknowledged other individuals more rarely.
Dr. Ira E. Hyman, Jr. at Western Washington University, head researcher of the study, says: “If people experience so much difficulty performing the task of walking when on a cell phone just think of what this means when put into the context of driving safety. People should not drive while talking on a cell phone.” Furthermore, the research shows that the level of familiarity with the person’s real-world environment does not affect their attentional awareness.
A close call for girls driving with cell phone
From JournalStar.com:
Rewind eight months to a cold, clear Monday night in February.
Connie Carroll and her neighbor are driving south on 27th Street after a PEO meeting.
Mario Scalora and his 13-year-old son are behind Carroll's car, headed home after soccer practice.
Rahela Vrazalica, 16, and her friend are driving in the opposite direction, toward her cousins' house.
The time hits 9:01, and through her Toyota SUV windshield, Carroll watches as the northbound car drifts, swerves and launches over the median - headed straight at her headlights.
Oh man, this is it.
Scalora watches, too, as the smaller car smashes head on into the larger one and the windshield on the smaller car -- a Toyota Corolla -- dents and pops with the pressure of the teenage passenger's face.
"I had to do a double take, to be honest."
Fast forward to an evening in early October. The teenage driver and passenger, Cheyenne Tontegode, are telling their story, sitting around the dining room table of Cheyenne's grandmother Connie Yost.
They don't remember much about the crash, the hours afterward or the next day when Rahela spent 13 hours in the operating room, and Cheyenne spent nine.
The police report lists texting as the cause.
The teens can't say exactly what started the sequence that led to serious injuries to four people.
But the two have no doubt a cell phone is what caused Rahela to turn her attention from the road.
You've likely seen the statistics.
And many of you probably have answered a ringing phone while behind the wheel, taking your eyes off the road to find it, pick it up, see who's calling, push a button, then divide your attention between the conversation and your driving.
Even talking on a hands-free device is said to have as much effect as driving with a .08 blood alcohol level - legally drunk in Nebraska.
Crashes caused by cell phone distractions are going up in Nebraska, from 117 in 2002 to 121 in 2007 and 141 in 2008. Forty-two of those in 2008 involved teens.
AAA Motor Club would like to see all states ban driver texting by 2013.
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia ban text messaging for all drivers. Nine states prohibit texting by young drivers.
In an August Harris survey, 80 percent of respondents supported legislation that would ban texting and e-mailing while driving. A little more than half said they would ban all cell phone use behind the wheel.
State Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff says he is working on a bill to introduce in January that would ban texting by Nebraska drivers. He sees a lot of it in his drives between his home and Lincoln, he said.
"I don't think you can text message and drive," he said. "I just think it's time to (ban) it."
Harms succeeded in passing a law in 2007 - despite the governor's veto - that prohibits teenage drivers with a provisional operator's permit from using a cell phone while driving. It's a secondary offense, meaning a driver must first be ticketed for another traffic offense.
Gov. Dave Heineman didn't like the bill because, he said, it substituted the "wisdom, judgment and responsibility of parents with that of state government."
Rahela was ticketed after the wreck - for negligent driving.
As Rahela and Cheyenne tell their story, they pause every few minutes to remember another injury that resulted from the crash.
For Rahela: A concussion; damaged hip; broken leg, ankle, knee, ribs, nose and jaw; collapsed lungs; battered face; knocked-out teeth.
For Cheyenne: A leg bone split and crushed in 14 places; a face carved by windshield glass; glass in one eye; a broken nose; broken ribs; collapsed lung.
Cheyenne bit through her tongue, bending her tongue ring in half.
A relative spent four hours combing out her hair, matted with blood and glass, so she wouldn't have to cut it.
Cheyenne remembers asking a paramedic through a haze of sleepiness: Am I going to die?
She remembers his answer: I don't know.
She spent 10 days in the hospital. Rahela stayed two weeks, and then spent three months in a wheelchair.
Eight months later, Rahela's face is still numb on the left side. Her emotions are just now leveling off: A kid who reports she rarely cried before found herself crying for almost any reason. She can't walk too far without getting tired, and her hip grinds and hurts when she climbs stairs.
She's had three surgeries since getting out of the hospital.
Cheyenne's face is scarred, and her leg has a long red scar down the outside, and her bone is growing sideways.
"I have a lot of bad dreams about the car accident," she says. "I don't feel like the same person."
They missed three and a half months of school.
Cheyenne's medical bills totaled around $90,000. Rahela's were much more, with added hospital time and more surgeries.
Now, they say, they appreciate life, school and family more.
But their friends, who swore off texting while driving after the crash, have resumed it.
They forget.
As the teens continue their story, Cheyenne's grandmother joins in. She would like to see a law banning cell phone distractions while driving, and stiff penalties for violations.
Truthfully, she would welcome a minimum age of 18 to drive.
Rahela's mother, Mirsada, picks up an eight-month-old photo of her daughter's post-crash face.
One look still brings tears.
Witness Mario Scalora, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln psychology professor, was behind Connie Carroll's car when Rahela's car crashed into it. Across the lane, he saw the car drift toward the right, then dramatically overcorrect, going out of control and across the median.
"The people in the SUV had no time to react," he said.
From her 2008 Toyota Highlander, Carroll wondered: What's that driver doing? What's going on?
Then Rahela's car hit, pushing Carroll's engine under her car.
"I thought we were dying, that nobody could live through this," she said last week.
Carroll couldn't breathe at first, and her chest hurt. She heard her passenger, Jodene Pfeiffer, moaning.
"I was so scared for her," she said.
Carroll ended up with deep purple bruises on her chest where the airbag hit. The bags hit them both with such force the seat belts burned into their microfiber coats.
Pfeiffer had pins put in her left hand. Two small fingers were shattered.
Both are still getting physical therapy for broken hands.
"It's still scary at night to drive," Carroll says. "I see those headlights coming at me."
Many people have told Carroll they text and drive.
"I say, 'Don't do it.'"
The experience was a horrible way for the teens to learn the lesson, she says.
"A lot of prayers have been said for those girls on our end."
Rewind eight months to a cold, clear Monday night in February.
Connie Carroll and her neighbor are driving south on 27th Street after a PEO meeting.
Mario Scalora and his 13-year-old son are behind Carroll's car, headed home after soccer practice.
Rahela Vrazalica, 16, and her friend are driving in the opposite direction, toward her cousins' house.
The time hits 9:01, and through her Toyota SUV windshield, Carroll watches as the northbound car drifts, swerves and launches over the median - headed straight at her headlights.
Oh man, this is it.
Scalora watches, too, as the smaller car smashes head on into the larger one and the windshield on the smaller car -- a Toyota Corolla -- dents and pops with the pressure of the teenage passenger's face.
"I had to do a double take, to be honest."
Fast forward to an evening in early October. The teenage driver and passenger, Cheyenne Tontegode, are telling their story, sitting around the dining room table of Cheyenne's grandmother Connie Yost.
They don't remember much about the crash, the hours afterward or the next day when Rahela spent 13 hours in the operating room, and Cheyenne spent nine.
The police report lists texting as the cause.
The teens can't say exactly what started the sequence that led to serious injuries to four people.
But the two have no doubt a cell phone is what caused Rahela to turn her attention from the road.
You've likely seen the statistics.
And many of you probably have answered a ringing phone while behind the wheel, taking your eyes off the road to find it, pick it up, see who's calling, push a button, then divide your attention between the conversation and your driving.
Even talking on a hands-free device is said to have as much effect as driving with a .08 blood alcohol level - legally drunk in Nebraska.
Crashes caused by cell phone distractions are going up in Nebraska, from 117 in 2002 to 121 in 2007 and 141 in 2008. Forty-two of those in 2008 involved teens.
AAA Motor Club would like to see all states ban driver texting by 2013.
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia ban text messaging for all drivers. Nine states prohibit texting by young drivers.
In an August Harris survey, 80 percent of respondents supported legislation that would ban texting and e-mailing while driving. A little more than half said they would ban all cell phone use behind the wheel.
State Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff says he is working on a bill to introduce in January that would ban texting by Nebraska drivers. He sees a lot of it in his drives between his home and Lincoln, he said.
"I don't think you can text message and drive," he said. "I just think it's time to (ban) it."
Harms succeeded in passing a law in 2007 - despite the governor's veto - that prohibits teenage drivers with a provisional operator's permit from using a cell phone while driving. It's a secondary offense, meaning a driver must first be ticketed for another traffic offense.
Gov. Dave Heineman didn't like the bill because, he said, it substituted the "wisdom, judgment and responsibility of parents with that of state government."
Rahela was ticketed after the wreck - for negligent driving.
As Rahela and Cheyenne tell their story, they pause every few minutes to remember another injury that resulted from the crash.
For Rahela: A concussion; damaged hip; broken leg, ankle, knee, ribs, nose and jaw; collapsed lungs; battered face; knocked-out teeth.
For Cheyenne: A leg bone split and crushed in 14 places; a face carved by windshield glass; glass in one eye; a broken nose; broken ribs; collapsed lung.
Cheyenne bit through her tongue, bending her tongue ring in half.
A relative spent four hours combing out her hair, matted with blood and glass, so she wouldn't have to cut it.
Cheyenne remembers asking a paramedic through a haze of sleepiness: Am I going to die?
She remembers his answer: I don't know.
She spent 10 days in the hospital. Rahela stayed two weeks, and then spent three months in a wheelchair.
Eight months later, Rahela's face is still numb on the left side. Her emotions are just now leveling off: A kid who reports she rarely cried before found herself crying for almost any reason. She can't walk too far without getting tired, and her hip grinds and hurts when she climbs stairs.
She's had three surgeries since getting out of the hospital.
Cheyenne's face is scarred, and her leg has a long red scar down the outside, and her bone is growing sideways.
"I have a lot of bad dreams about the car accident," she says. "I don't feel like the same person."
They missed three and a half months of school.
Cheyenne's medical bills totaled around $90,000. Rahela's were much more, with added hospital time and more surgeries.
Now, they say, they appreciate life, school and family more.
But their friends, who swore off texting while driving after the crash, have resumed it.
They forget.
As the teens continue their story, Cheyenne's grandmother joins in. She would like to see a law banning cell phone distractions while driving, and stiff penalties for violations.
Truthfully, she would welcome a minimum age of 18 to drive.
Rahela's mother, Mirsada, picks up an eight-month-old photo of her daughter's post-crash face.
One look still brings tears.
Witness Mario Scalora, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln psychology professor, was behind Connie Carroll's car when Rahela's car crashed into it. Across the lane, he saw the car drift toward the right, then dramatically overcorrect, going out of control and across the median.
"The people in the SUV had no time to react," he said.
From her 2008 Toyota Highlander, Carroll wondered: What's that driver doing? What's going on?
Then Rahela's car hit, pushing Carroll's engine under her car.
"I thought we were dying, that nobody could live through this," she said last week.
Carroll couldn't breathe at first, and her chest hurt. She heard her passenger, Jodene Pfeiffer, moaning.
"I was so scared for her," she said.
Carroll ended up with deep purple bruises on her chest where the airbag hit. The bags hit them both with such force the seat belts burned into their microfiber coats.
Pfeiffer had pins put in her left hand. Two small fingers were shattered.
Both are still getting physical therapy for broken hands.
"It's still scary at night to drive," Carroll says. "I see those headlights coming at me."
Many people have told Carroll they text and drive.
"I say, 'Don't do it.'"
The experience was a horrible way for the teens to learn the lesson, she says.
"A lot of prayers have been said for those girls on our end."
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