Texting, talking on cell phone while driving a safety hazard, teacher's death ...
21.02.10
Young drivers, we need to talk.
Do you drive your car while punching in text messages on your cell phone?
Feel the need to connect with your friends moment to moment, even while driving, to learn what they had for lunch and what movie they plan to see?
Think you’re so good you can text and drive safely?
Think again.
Growing concerns among researchers about the effect of texting on traffic safety were driven home last fall, in a fatal traffic crash that pierced hundreds of Hudson’s Bay High School students through their hearts — and teachers, friends and family members as well.
About 4 p.m. on Sept. 15, Antonio Cellestine, 18, was texting a girlfriend as he drove on Northeast St. Johns Road near the top of a hill, taking his eyes off the road at times, according to court documents.
Gordon Patterson, 50, a husband, father and popular teacher at Hudson’s Bay, was riding his bicycle home from school, in a bike lane.
As Cellestine texted, his car drifted into the bike lane, hitting Patterson from behind and throwing him into the air. Patterson died of his injuries.
Source: The Columbian