Poster Child For Texting Ban: Tow Truck Driver Texts, Crashes, Swims

From Channel Web.

A New York State tow truck driver who was texting on one cell phone and talking on another cell phone hit a car and then drove into a swimming pool, making him a poster child for why many people are pushing for a ban on texting while driving.

The accident, as reported by The Buffalo News, comes on the heel of a recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute which concluded that texting while driving at the same time can increase the risk of a crash by 23 times.

The study found that, of all the actions a driver can do with a cell phone while driving, texting was the most dangerous, as a driver's eyes might be on the cell phone for 4.6 seconds out of a 6-second interval. That's the equivalent of driving the length of a football field at 55 miles per hour without looking at the road, VTTI said.

According to The Buffalo News, the tow truck driver on Wednesday crashed into a car in Lockport, N.Y., just north of Buffalo, injuring a woman and her niece.

The truck then crashed through a fence and a house, and ended up in a swimming pool.

The driver, who admitted to talking and texting while driving, was charged with reckless driving, talking on a cell phone and following another car too closely, the report.

The driver of the car rear-ended by the tow truck was hospitalized for head injuries and is listed in good condition. Her niece was released by the hospital after treatment of wrist injuries. The tow truck driver was treated for back and neck injuries.