Texting and Driving Cases That Will Make You Think Twice

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that texting while driving is six times more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol. Whether you're driving the mountainous streets of Utah or the city streets of the East, texting while driving kills. The Harvard Center of Risk Analysis estimates that texting behind the wheel causes more than 3,000 tragedies and 330,000 accidental injuries each year. There are many texting and driving cases that prove these auto accidents in Utah and elsewhere. 

Kyle Best 

Kyle Best was driving his pickup truck in New Jersey while texting his girlfriend, Colonna. The young teenage couple texted sixty-two texts that day. Distracted on a rural highway, Best drifted across the double center line and hit motorcyclist' David Kubert and his wife Linda. They both lost their legs in the accident. The couple not only tried to sue Best, but also Colonna for distracting him. Although they lost their case with Colonna, it is no doubt that distracted driving is a crime in New Jersey and Best paid for his crime. 

Cecilia Carter 

Cecelia Carter, age 26, suffered immense brain damage due to a texting and driving accident. O’Guin, who ran a stop sign because he was distracted by his phone, drove straight into Carter’s path. Carter was comatose for three weeks after the auto accident, and still requires a wheelchair today. Her speech is permanently damaged, and like many other texting auto accidents it is evident the injured individual went through serious and lifelong pain. In fact, Carter won $4.3 million in the lawsuit. 

Haley Meyers 

Twenty-year-old Haley Meyer’s was texting when she hit motorcyclist, Robert, killing him. She is now facing negligent manslaughter charges and faces up to ten years in jail. It is illegal in Maryland to text and also to talk on a handheld phone while driving. Haley Meyers is not alone. From Utah to the East Coast many others have killed innocent victims in auto accidents while texting. These cases should make you think twice, put down your phone, and focus on the road ahead. 

Saja Chodosh is a legal writer reporter for Fusion 360, a Content Marketing Agency. Information provided by Robert J Debry.

*Image Credit: Wikimedia