Teen Nearly Dies In Texting & Driving Crash While Texting He Might Crash

August 15, 2012

People who text and drive know this dangerous. They know it increases the risk of an auto accident. Twenty-one year Chance Boothe of Texas can prove this point as well as anyone. Last January, Boothe remembers the last time he texted while driving. In his last text, he wrote “this is dumb. If we keep doing this I’m going to wreck my truck, going to get in a crash.” Just then he crashed. Boothe’s truck plummeted into a ravine before landing in a creek. The engine of his puck ended up in his lap, while the roof crumpled onto his head.

Miraculously, Boothe survived his texting while driving crash. However, it was not without suffering serious personal injury. Booth sustained a fractured sternum, neck, and brain damage. He underwent six months of rehabilitation before he was finally discharged.

Boothe does have a message for others. “God saved my life somehow. I know I died like three times but God didn’t keep me away from coming back here,” said Boothe. “I have a higher purpose in being here. And I think it’s to tell everyone not to text message and drive.”

Study after study has demonstrated the dangers of texting while driving. In one recent study, 37% of teens acknowledged they knew texting while driving is “very” or “extremely” dangerous. However, 46% of teens admitted they have been distracted because they were texting while driving. Indeed, the risk of a car accident is 23 times higher for drivers who are texting while driving. The reason for this dramatically higher risk is rather simple; drivers who text while driving spend an average of 4.6 seconds focusing their eyes down on their cell phone rather than the road in front of them. This is equivalent to driving the length of a football field at 55 MPH blind folded. Nevertheless, every minute of every day, someone is texting while driving. In doing so, they are jeopardizing their life and the lives of others around them.

Sources Used:

ABC 13 Houston, Victims Details Dangers Of Texting And Driving, August 1, 2012.

Wikipedia, Texting While Driving, Last Updated August 9, 2012.