Several people were taken to the hospital after a two-vehicle collision near Wallace in Harrison County, WV near Lumberport. Six people were injured in the two pickup truck crash. Texting while driving is suspected as a possible cause of one of the pickups crossing the center line, causing the head-on collision. Unfortunately, the four people in the pickup that crossed the center line were not wearing seat belts and sustained serious injuries. The driver and the passenger of that truck were flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital by HealthNet for severe head trauma. The two passengers in the rear of that truck and also the two people in the other pickup were taken to UHC for treatment for injuries sustained in the truck collision.
Tag: texting while driving
Driver Plummets Off Bridge While Texting and Lives to Warn Others
“I need to quit texting because I could die in a car accident.”
That was one of the final texts written by a 21-year-old before his truck plummeted off a Texas bridge and into a ravine. The young man miraculously survived despite suffering brain injuries and breaking nearly every bone in his body, including his cheekbones, neck, and skull. He also had to be brought back to life three times, reports WBTV.
This past Wednesday the young man left the hospital after a six-month stay that included numerous reconstructive surgeries and intensive rehabilitation (he even had to learn how to speak again). Though the incident took place on January 24, only now is he able to discuss the crash.
“Don’t do it. It’s not worth losing your life,” the man said of texting behind the wheel. “I went to my grandmother’s funeral not long ago, and I kept thinking, it kept jumping into my head, I’m surprised that’s not me up in that casket. I came very close to that, to being gone forever.”
As smartphones increasingly play a role in our lives, so too does distracted driving. A doctor from the young man’s rehabilitation program told the Daily News that he is treating an increased number of patients injured because of texting on the road. “And unfortunately I don’t think we’re going to see a decrease in that anytime soon.”
But driving under the influence of your phone isn’t the only issue; pedestrians are also in danger. Recent security camera footage revealed a shocking incident in which a Philadelphia man fell onto train tracks as he distractedly walked and talked on his cellphone. (Luckily there were no trains were headed his way, and the man escaped to safety.)
“If I had a kid 16 years old starting to drive, they could have a phone but the texting feature wouldn’t be on it,” the young man’s father suggests.
This young man believes one of his reasons for still being alive is to spread the message he learned all too well. “I still have things to do in this world,” he said. “I should tell everyone not to text message and drive.”
Morgantown WV Car Accident Lawyers
If you would like more information about texting while driving or need help in navigating the insurance claims process after having been injured by someone else’s negligence or carelessness in WV, please click here. Jeff Robinette at the Robinette Legal Group in Morgantown answers questions like yours every day and would be happy to answer yours. Call 304-594-1800 today.
Texting While Driving Four Times More Dangerous Than Drunk Driving
A bill that would outlaw texting and using a hand-held cell phone while driving was passed unanimously by the West Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee. Texting while driving would now be a primary offense. Using a hand-held cell phone would still be a secondary offense. A person who texts while driving is twenty-three times more likely to be involved in an accident.
The West Virginia Trucking Association also supports the bill. Truckers are already prohibited from texting or talking on hand-held phones while driving.
Texting while driving is a dangerous epidemic on America’s roadways. In 2009 alone, nearly 5,500 people were killed and 450,000 more were injured in distracted driving crashes.
The Senate bill sets the fines at $50 for the first offense; $100 for the second offense, and $200 for each subsequent offense. Drivers would be penalized three points for a third texting offense.
Governor Tomblin supports the bill. The bill will now go to the full Senate, and a similar version is being considered in the House.
Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes by Age and Vehicle Type, 2009
|
Total Drivers
|
Distracted Drivers
|
Drivers With Cell Phone* (% of Distracted Drivers)
|
|||
| Total |
45,230
|
5,084 (11%)
|
1,006 (20%)
|
||
|
Drivers by Age Group
|
|||||
| Under 20 |
3,967
|
619 (16%)
|
138 (22%)
|
||
| 20-29 |
10,719
|
1,378 (13%)
|
293 (21%)
|
||
| 30-39 |
7,633
|
832 (11%)
|
196 (24%)
|
||
| 40-49 |
7,930
|
811 (10%)
|
161 (20%)
|
||
| 50-59 |
6,559
|
631 (10%)
|
124 (20%)
|
||
| 60-69 |
3,968
|
367 (9%)
|
56 (15%)
|
||
| 70+ |
3,778
|
408 (11%)
|
37 (9%)
|
||
|
Drivers by Vehicle Type
|
|||||
| Passenger Car |
18,279
|
2,044 (11%)
|
386 (19%)
|
||
| Light Truck |
17,822
|
2,117 (12%)
|
475 (22%)
|
||
| Motorcycle |
4,593
|
562 (12%)
|
63 (11%)
|
||
| Large Truck |
3,187
|
257 (8%)
|
75 (29%)
|
||
| Bus |
221
|
14 (6%)
|
3 (21%)
|
||
