Fatal pedestrian accident involves Facebook update | Atlanta Texting Accident Attorneys

Posted on 18. Feb, 2011 by marklink in blog

When was the last time you considered posting a Facebook update as life and death matter?

Sadly, in December a women struck and killed 71 year-old Raymond Veloz on the South side of Chicago. Raymond was standing on the side of the road exchanging information with another driver after being involved in his own accident just moments before. Motorist, Araceli Beas, was reportedly on her phone making a Facebook update when she struck Veloz.

The driver was ticketed for striking a pedestrian in the roadway. This story has gained some attention from fellow blogging attorneys like Jonathan Turley . He commented on the story, as well as numerous news outlets (see additional resources below). According to the CBS Chicago news website:

The suit, filed by Veloz’ daughter, Regina Cabrales, claims Beas didn’t keep a proper lookout, drove while using an electronic communication device and failed to slow down to avoid an accident.

Something as innocent as posting an update on Facebook can turn into a senseless tragedy when it involves a motor vehicle. Injury attorney’s are often called to deal with the fall out from such irresponsible behavior. Texting accidents could be avoided entirely, if people would not engage in this kind of preventable and risky behavior.  This accident does raise the question, why do people continue to engage in distracted driving behavior.

Distracted Driving

The US Department Of Transportation is making strides in raising more awareness of the dangers of texting and operating your phone while driving. Their new website Distraction.gov aims to share the stories of the people affected by such senseless tragedies. Stories like this are starting to spread and inspire others to do more than just put down their phone while driving. Taylor Lochrane, a student at University of Central Florida, helped inspire student activism with a campaign of his own. Called, Put Down Ur Cell Fone (UCF), it aims to to fight distracted driving behavior, especially among teens. The student group even declared October 25th Distracted Driving Awareness Day.

UCF’s campaign was spearheaded by Student Body Vice President Taylor Lochrane, who interned as a field engineer this summer at the Federal Highway Administration’s Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Facility in McLean, Virginia.  He got the idea for “Put Down Ur Cell Fone” last spring during a ceremony honoring the Eternal Knights–a tribute to UCF students who had passed away during the previous year.

Distracted driving is a preventable  behavior. Too often it leads to accidents such as Mr. Valoz and the students at UCF. The more people who are aware of the dangers of their driving behaviors the better it is for all of us. Check out these websites, educate yourself on the dangers distracted driving and pass along the message.

Additional Resources:

Chicago Driver Sued For Facebook-While-Driving Fatality

Was A Chicago Driver Updating Facebook When She Hit & Killed A Pedestrian?

Chicago Driver Sued for Updating Facebook Page During Fatal Crash

Driver accused of updating Facebook in fatal crash

Tags: atlanta texting accident attorneys, distracted driving, facebook accident, risky driver behavior, texting accidnent, univeristy central florida