A passenger was fortunate enough to survive a Dallas car accident after a rollover SUV crash blamed on a driver using his cell phone, according to My Fox DFW.
Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputies report that the driver had just left the bar with his buddy and that alcohol may have also played a role in the single-car wreck.
Our Dallas car accident attorneys urge drivers to focus on the road when operating a motor vehicle and to avoid distractions at all cost as they can cause serious injury to you, your passengers and other motorists. With a recent wave of technology, driving while engaging in distracted behavior has become all too common.
The accident happened at roughly 2:30 a.m. as the driver was leaving Highway 67 to head eastbound on I-20. He was reportedly on his phone when he lost control of his vehicle, stuck a tree and flipped his SUV. The vehicle reportedly landed face-down in a body of water.
Luckily a passing motorcyclist stopped to assist the victims. He pulled them out of the vehicle and called for help. The motorcyclist says that the driver was drowning.
Emergency responders rushed both of the occupants to the hospital, where the driver was later pronounced dead. The passenger has been treated and released from the hospital.
In the wake of an increased rate of distracted driving accidents, the U.S. Department of Transportation is leading the effort to help Americans put down the distractions while behind the wheel. The government is working with a number of public and private entities to raise awareness and to tackle the dangerous habit.
Distracted driving is more prominent than you may think. A recent survey conducted by Distraction.gov found:
-Nearly 5,500 people were killed in 2009 in the United States because of motor-vehicle accidents that reported to have involved distracted driving. An additional 448,000 were injured in the same types of accidents.
-Approximately 20 percent of all crashes resulting in injury reported distracted driving in 2009.
-Drivers using a hand-held device behind the wheel are four times more likely to be involved in an accident serious enough to cause injury.
-Of the fatal distracted-driving-related accidents, nearly 1,000 of them reported the use of a cell phone as the distraction.
-Young drivers under the age of 20 are the ones most likely to be involved in distracted driving accident. Nearly 20 percent of these young drivers have been involved in one of these accidents.
-The use of a cell phone behind the wheel gives a driver the same reaction time as one who is legally drunk (with the blood alcohol concentration of .08).
Distracted driving involves any non-driving activity that a person engages in that can have the ability to take their attention off of the road and increase their risks of being involved in an accident.
The Goolsby Law Firm is dedicated and motivated to fighting for victims and their families who have suffered in Dallas, Carrollton or the surrounding areas. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident with a distracted driver or any other car-related accident, call for a free consultation at 1-972-394-2141.
