End Texting and Driving

"The United States Department of Transportation notes that cell phones are involved in 1.6 million auto crashes each year."


On March 4, 2015  my family was involved in a head on collision on Long Branch Road in Dahlonega, GA. The driver of the other vehicle was midtext when he crossed into our lane striking us head on at about 60 mph. We had no time to prepare for the hardest hit of our lives. Miraculously we survived a crash that killed the at fault driver on impact. He unfortuantly joined the 6000 people a year who lose their lives due to cell phone use behind the wheel. 

The accident resulted in many injuries for me and my family members. The driver of our vehicle recieved many bruises and lacerations to his legs from the front end of the truck being pushed into his floorboard. John, the driver, also sustained a broken arm that required surgery. The passenger, myself, has a fractured back, bruised lung and mulitple lacerations and bruises. I am still waiting to hear if my fractured vertebrae will require surgery. The most effected by the crash was John's fourteen year old son who was sitting in the back seat (the middle seat to be exact). Tyler, wearing only a lap belt, took the impact of the hit in his lower stomach, causing both his colon and intestines to rupture. He was life flighted from the scene to Egleston Children's Hospital, where he went into surgery immediatly to repair his colon and intestines. Tyler remained in the hospital for a week before returning home for the remainder of his recovery. 

"You are 23 times more likely to get into a car accident if you are texting."

As we get past the shock of the accident the reality is setting in. We have found out that the other driver had no insurance. Our vehicle is totaled. Our medical bills are well into the tens of thousands of dollars and continue to grow as we follow up with doctor visits for our injuries. I have no insurance. We cannot work at this time and have to get a new vehicle as well. It feels as though our lives have been flipped upside down and the hardest part to grasp is that we did nothing wrong. We are thankful to be alive but it is crazy to think that all of this could have been avoided if the driver would have just waited until he was not driving to text.

"Texting and driving is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. "

We are asking for any possible donations to help our family get back on our feet. If you cannot donate then please share our story so we can help put an end to texting and driving. 

Thank you.







News Article on the crash:
http://www.thedahloneganugget.com/view/full_story_free/26518641/article-Texting-a-possible-cause-in-fatal-crash?instance=breakingNews_article 
More info on texting and driving: 
http://www.donttextdrive.com/