Facebook Live is a hazard to the public when drivers focus on using it, not driving their vehicles, says Philadelphia car accident lawyer Rand Spear.
It may have just been a coincidence or it may have lead to the deaths of two young women. Earlier this month two teens were in a car on I-380 outside Scranton when the driver decided to record, live, on Facebook. Moments later they were both dead after being rear ended by a truck. Philadelphia car accident lawyer Rand Spear says drivers should never use social media while driving.
The teen driver held up her cellphone while on the highway near Tobyhanna, “Are you going live?” her passenger asks her. Recorded next on the video are flashing lights, the sound of screeching tires then the video goes dark as the tractor-trailer plows into the rear of the car. Both women were declared dead at the scene, according to the Scranton Times-Tribune1.
According to the Pennsylvania State Police the car was using a spare tire “doughnut.” Due to the intense fire that destroyed the car, the police aren’t sure about the condition of the car prior to the accident and the teens’ bodies couldn’t initially be identified. The truck driver was not hurt and hadn’t been criminally charged in connection with the collision when the article was published.
A 17 year old friend of both teens, of Scranton, was in the car with the two prior to the accident. She told the reporter she was thankful she got out of the car, “but I feel like if I went, I could have stopped it somehow.” The driver was a student at West Scranton High School.
The video continues, black, for seven minutes before a man can be heard speaking and there’s a blurry but bearded face seen before the video ends. State police said they will use the video as part of their investigation.
What may have happened is because the car was partially disabled because of the tire problem it was travelling slowly on the highway when it was rear ended. Whether the driver could’ve done something to avoid or lessen the accident if she weren’t focused on going Facebook Live we may never know, adds injury lawyer Spear.
A luckier driver who broadcast live on Facebook is a 20-year old who is still alive. For some reason he needed to drive extremely dangerously and show the world how good he was at it. Until the collision occurred.
He was in Rhode Island, travelling as fast as 115 mph, weaving in and out of traffic, sometimes driving on the shoulder to pass other vehicles earlier this month. In the video loud rap music is playing while the driver yells, “Let’s get it papi!” then he skids across three lanes and crashes into the back of a dump truck and a road barrier, according to ABC News2.
“How lucky we are that no one else was hurt,” a Capt. of the Rhode Island State Police is quoted as saying. “It’s a grand slam of things not to do.” The driver was reportedly in fair condition at a hospital. No one else was injured in the accident. Police said he will be charged with driving with a suspended license and reckless driving.
There are simply some things you shouldn’t do when you drive, states car accident attorney Spear. That includes driving recklessly and using social media while driving. As a driver you need to focus on driving, not entertaining the rest of the world with your video. If you do it may be the last mistake you ever make.
If you or a loved one have been injured by a distracted driver in a vehicle accident in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, contact Philadelphia car accident lawyer Rand Spear at 888-373-4LAW today so you can set up a free consultation to discuss the accident, how the law may apply in your situation and what you should do next to protect your rights to compensation for your injuries.
Footnotes:
1Scranton Times-Tribune: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/teen-driver-was-live-video-broadcasting-self-online-at-time-of-fatal-crash-1.2127605
2ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/US/man-live-streams-high-speed-crash-facebook-live/story?id=43921533
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