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I was casually scanning Facebook when I came across a grieving post about a woman killed in a one-car accident.  Here is an excerpt:

“Yesterday at just after 1pm the light of my life was tragically extinguished on her way home to Chicago to be with loved ones and celebrate her upcoming birthday.” …“I was on the phone with her and heard her last words and scream before the phone died.”

A news article about the crash revealed that the woman was attempting to use the left shoulder of the highway to pass a semi-truck when she lost losing control of her vehicle.  The SUV rolled five times and struck the median wall twice.  The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police believe cell phone use is a possible contributing cause after the woman’s husband said he was talking to his wife on the phone when she told him she was going to use the shoulder of the road to pass a vehicle.

A thorough investigation will determine if other factors played a role in this fatal accident; it appears clear, however, that the woman was driving recklessly while distracted by a cell phone.  Her husband casually mentioned to police that moments before he heard her last words and scream, his wife told him she was engaging in an illegal activity – driving on the left shoulder to pass another vehicle. What he seemed to miss was the possible fact that his participation in the telephone conversation may have contributed to the accident.   Make no mistake; using a cell phone while driving is careless, negligent, dangerous and potentially deadly behavior.  Here, this danger was compounded by a reckless decision to pass, illegally, on the shoulder of the road.

I constantly write about how dangerous it is to drive and text, drive and phone, drive with any type of distraction.  It is too late for this woman and her husband is now a grieving widower.  This can very easily happen to anyone reading this post.  Please, put the phone down while behind the wheel and don’t engage in phone conversations with people you know are driving.

Mark Bello has thirty-six years experience as a trial lawyer and fourteen years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporation which helps provide cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life litigation funding is needed by a plaintiff involved in pending, personal injury, litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Member of Public Justice, Public Citizen, the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.

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