Seconds after posting to Facebook, a distracted driver was killed in a head-on collision. Her final status update? "The happy song makes me HAPPY," in reference the the Pharrell song by the same title.
Investigators say that in the minutes leading up to 32-year-old Courtney Sanford's death, she was driving along the interstate taking selfies and posting to Facebook. Within seconds of posting the Facebook status about how the popular song made her happy, she veered across the median and crashed head-on into a truck driven by a 73-year-old man. The truck ran off the road and struck a tree, and Sanford's vehicle left the roadway and caught fire. Fortunately, the driver of the truck was uninjured, but the woman who was "happy" only moments before was not so lucky. She died at the scene.
Investigators say that friends and family told them that the woman had been active on social media around the same time as the crash, texting Facebook updates and selfies. When they looked at her social media account, they noticed that her final update--the one about Pharrell's "Happy"--posted at 8:33 p.m. Police dispatchers got a call about the accident at 8:34.
Of the social media activity, police Captain Mike Kirk says,"We find it very difficult to think that it didn't play a role."
People have long been warned of the dangers of distracted driving in general, and of texting while driving in particular. It seems a terrible waste that a woman is dead because of something so trivial as a Facebook update. If there is one silver lining in this, it is that no one else was seriously injured or killed as a result of her reckless actions.
Texting while driving, though not the most common cause of distracted driving accidents, is perhaps the most dangerous. In order to read or send a text, a person must take his or her eyes off the road, at least one hand off the wheel, and mind off of the task of driving. This triple-combination of visual, cognitive, and manual distraction leaves little room for error and makes it all too easy to lose control of one's vehicle.
Investigators say that it does not appear that drugs or alcohol were involved in the collision that claimed Sanford's life. However, many studies have shown that texting while driving can cause impairment that mimics intoxication by drugs and alcohol. In the past, if you witnessed a driver swerving, drifting across lines, weaving, failing to heed traffic signs, and unable to maintain a constant speed, you would assume he or she was a drunk driver. Now, these exact same behaviors may be indicators of texting while driving.
When a distracted driver causes an accident, the driver or his or her estate may be held liable for any damages incurred by victims of the accident. These losses include not only property damage, but also those related to personal injury or wrongful death. Auto accident litigation increasingly involves distracted driving and the use of cell phones or mobile devices prior to a wreck. Learn more about texting and driving through the "It Can Wait" campaign at itcanwait.com.
