In a case that provides a vivid reminder of just how dangerous it is to drive while talking on the phone, a woman was critically injured last night in Sandy, Utah, as she was talking on her cell phone. According to KSL News, the 64-year old Kearns, Utah woman was talking on her cell phone to a family member last night, December 15, 2008, when she ran into the back portion of a truck parked in the emergency lane of the I-15. The woman was going north and was just approaching the 90th South exit in Sandy when the crash happened. The family member reported hearing the woman yell and then the phone went dead.
The truck she ran into was reportedly abandoned. This is a very dangerous situation. It is unknown whether any lights or emergency blinkers were on or whether any emergency warnings were placed around the truck. The pictures on KSL.com, however, do not show that the truck’s lights were on. It is likely that the truck’s reflectors were not particularly reflective given the high amount of salt and grime on the highway last night.
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
This kind of crash is actually not uncommon. This is one of the reasons why vehicles are not allowed to stop on the side of the highway except briefly for emergency reasons. The UHP knows of this danger and every year it seems we here of cases where a trooper parked on the side of the road is rear ended by an oncoming vehicle.
I would recommend that the family of this woman contact a personal injury lawyer in Utah to find out what possible remedies she has in this situation. Certainly she bears some of the blame for driving off the road and hitting the truck. If the truck was parked in a dangerous way and was not lit up to warn motorists of its location, however, then the trucking company bears some of the blame as well. My best wishes to the woman in this crash for a speedy recovery. And to all of us, a lesson to limit our cell phone and text messaging use while driving.
Published by: Ron Kramer
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)