Teen Says Phone Distraction Led to Fatal Flagler County Crash

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on May 11, 2020

A severe collision occurring within Flagler County on the morning of Wednesday, May 6th, resulted in at least one fatality, according to reports from the Florida Highway Patrol. The incident began sometime before 9:00 in the morning, when numerous vehicles were traveling along Interstate 95. One of these vehicles was a tractor-trailer being driven by a 56-year-old individual. The other was a car being driven by an 18-year-old.

The exact time that the incident took place was not clear, but it appears as though both the tractor-trailer and the car being driven by the 18-year-old were traveling the same direction along I-95. At a certain point, the teenager became distracted by their phone. It is not clear if they were receiving a call, answering a text, or simply looking at their phone while driving, but the reports indicated that the 18-year-old told emergency response members that they began looking at their phone a moment before losing control of their vehicle.

Although the incident remains under investigation, it appears as though the 18-year-old’s car began to drift as they checked their phone. When they became aware of this, they jerked the wheel in an attempt to regain control and resume travel in their proper lane. The force they applied to the steering wheel was excessive, and this caused the car to veer from one lane and into the next lane over. In this next lane, the tractor-trailer was also making its way down the road.

It appears as though the car being driven by the 18-year-old struck the rear wheels of the tractor-trailer as it swerved across the highway. The force of this collision caused the driver of the tractor-trailer to lose control of their vehicle, which began to also careen across the highway. Before the driver of the semi had a chance to adjust course, their truck slammed into a guardrail and overturned.

Emergency response crews rushed to the scene and began to tend to both the 18-year-old and the 56-year-old. It is believed that the injuries sustained by the truck driver were extremely severe and that they were declared dead at the scene of the crash. The 18-year-old suffered from minor injuries.

An investigation into the incident remains ongoing.

Sources:

• Troopers: Teen driver in Florida distracted by phone causes fatal I-95 crash

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.