Plantation Fire Dept: Driver Injured In Crash After Texting
PLANTATION (CBSMiami) -- In the wee hours of Thursday morning, Plantation fire officials said a woman hit a tree in the median along University Drive near NW 5th Street while she was texting. Pictures from the Plantation Fire Department showed the aftermath of the single car crash.
Battalion Chief Joel Gordon said the female driver was trapped in her car and told a witness and a police officer that she was texting and lost control of the vehicle. Gordon said the woman suffered serious injuries but will recover. He said the larger issue is the serious danger of the distraction caused by texting and driving.
Click here to watch Carey Codd's report.
"No text is so important that it's worth risking your life or the lives of others and if it is, pull over take 5 minutes and answer it and everyone will be safer," Gordon told CBS4's Carey Codd.
And if you do, you won't be breaking the law. Last year Governor Rick Scott signed a bill making it a secondary offense to text and drive meaning you have to be pulled over for something else before being cited for texting and driving.
Gordon is part of a Broward County effort to reduce texting and driving among teens and young adults called Take 5 to Stay Alive Don't Text and Drive. He said this woman's accident shows why everyone needs to heed this warning.
"She's going to survive, fortunately," Gordon said. "It's just one small example of how tragic it can get in just a single moment."
Plantation Police have not said if the woman will be cited for texting and driving.
If you want to know more about the Broward County effort to stop texting and driving, click here to visit the website.
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