Teen Car Crash Deaths Spike Between May And August

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Over the weekend, teens Kai Hrabovsky and Shane Phillips died in car crashes.

It has become too frequent of a sight, it's one that arrives like clockwork this time every year.

"Highest fatalities throughout the year happen these 120 days," said Jim Clair of Ultimate Defensive Driving.

He claims no child is immune.

"Your kid could be a straight-A student but when they get inside a vehicle and you get a lot of things happeing inside that car, three or four people in there bad things are bound to happen," Clair said.

It's a symptom of this time of year.

"We're coming towards the end of school," Trooper Robin Mungo said. "A lot of colleges are out and kids are coming back home for the summer."

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On a sunny Monday the driving tends to be tranquil. But on the weekends, peer pressure may cause drivers to take risks. And the risk rises rapidly as more people are included in the ride.

"We're putting too many kids in the car and there are a lot of distractions in the car," Clair said.

A survey by Students Against Destructive Decisions and Liberty Mutual confirms kids say other kids are a distraction and so is the cell phone.

55 percent of those surveyed said they must answer when their phone rings because it's often their parents wanting an update.

"As disciplined as they might be, they might pick up that phone and take that one split second to look and all it takes is a look off the road that quick," Clair said.

Since often times those who die are not behind the wheel, Mungo says to passengers: "you are just as responsible as the driver, you have to make sure that driver is paying attention to the road."

Mungo adds parents need to be tough.

"You have to set up some guidelines, you have to be responsible, you never want a situation where law enforcement is knocking at your door because your child has passed away in a crash," she said.