Is letting people on Facebook know that you like a song or that you’re happy worth your life?
No… but it could cost you your life if you’re posting on social media while driving.
Posting on Facebook was the last thing that 32-year-old Courtney Sanford of North Carolina did. She was driving to work in her Toyota Corolla when the Pharrell song “Happy” came on. She snapped a selfie while driving and posted it on Facebook with the caption “The happy song makes me HAPPY!”
She ended up crossing a median and crashing head-on into a recycling truck in the process. The truck was run off the road and hit a tree. Thankfully, the driver of the truck, 73-year-old John Wallace Thompson wasn’t injured in the accident.
Sanford, however, didn’t make it out alive.
“In a matter of seconds, a life was over just so she could notify some friends that she was happy or going to work whatever,” High Point Police Lt. Chris Weisner told FOX 8.
Police found that Sandford had posted several selfies during her drive and crashed immediately following her last point.
“The Facebook text happened at 8:33 a.m. We got the call on the wreck at 8:34 a.m.,” he said. “Within seconds after that, her life was over. It’s really not worth it.”
Weisner said this scene was like a PSA commercial come to life.
“We’ve all seen these graphic advertisements on TV, this was real life,” he said.
Weisner also said that the story really hit home for him.
“I have three boys at home too who drive and it really, cause you know they do it and we’ve all been guilty of it, and it just really brings home the realization of it that it’s not worth it.”
We’ve all heard the warnings and how dangerous distracted driving is but this story is proof. Not only can you lose your own life, but you risk the lives of others in your car and the vehicles around you when you use your cell phone while driving.
It’s for this reason that we all must be focused and alert while driving.
“As sad as it is, it is a grim reminder for everyone… you just have to pay attention while you are in the car,” Weisner said.
Watch the video below for more on this heartbreaking and senseless tragedy that unfortunately could have been avoided.
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