News

Is the other person on the cell guilty of helping to cause the crash?

Posted on Jun 02, 2010

Drivers Distraction by Cell Phone Callers - What was the cause of the crash?

In today's blog I discussed cell phones being a distraction and causing accidents. I'm seeing them with truck drivers on the Interstate Highway system as well as in town with parent drivers chauffeuring their kids around town. In either instance the results can be deadly. Here is the post.

Texting While Driving: A Deadly Combination.

This morning as I was reviewing the news I saw this story and couldn't help wondering about the driver being distracted. It's not just lawsuits where I hear of the problem. I see it in my neighborhood and in town. Here in West Des Moines I constantly see mother's driving with kids in the back seat and the mother is yakking on the phone and it's obvious this is not a good driving habit. Instead of talking with the kids the mother is engaged with someone not present who is helping to create a major driving distraction. Here is the report from KWWL.

"DAVENPORT (KWWL)-- A mother and her two daughters died, when their vehicle collided with van on their way home from a softball tournament Saturday night.

Donna Mitchell, along with 11-year old Susan, and 13-year old Kourtni, were killed.

Police say Mitchell's vehicle went off the shoulder, and then may have overcorrected, crossing the center line and hitting an oncoming van head-on on Kimberly Road in Davenport.

Six other people from those two vehicles were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Police say it appears Mitchell was driving the speed limit and wasn't driving recklessly. The cause of the crash is under investigation."

Being a trial lawyer for 30 years it's impossible not to think about what might have caused this driver to go off the road and onto the shoulder. Was she distracted with a cell phone? I have no way of knowing, but I can't help but wonder if a cell phone was involved. This is the point today for this news item. If there was a cell conversation there is another person who has the details of what was being said just prior to the driver losing control. And that other person will have a lifetime of guilt to deal with in knowing they participated in being the cause of this accident. Because in every instance of a fatality involving a driver being distracted by a cell phone call the person who was on the other end of that call has to deal with knowing they were a part of the accident; they did participate in creating the distraction that killed their friend or relative. Do you want to be that person?

You have control over what you do and can easily just hang up. Here is what people don't think about, who are on the other end of those phone calls? If you're talking to a driver by cell simply hang up before you help to cause a fatality.

For good advice see a lawyer and if you have questions about this blog, the law or your case write or call me directly. Steve Lombardi, sdlombardi@aol.com and 515-222-1110. I handle all types of personal injury cases including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, workers' compensation cases. We help truckers all across the country who come through Iowa and end up in an accident. If we need other lawyers from other states we hire them and it costs you no more than what you would pay us; in other words, we split the fee between us. So call 515-222-1110 or email us at sdlombardi@aol.com.
Steve Lombardi, Attorney