07/23/2014
This accident in Santa Rosa over the weekend killed two people.
And you know why it happened?
Because the driver of the truck that hit them was apparently looking at his cellphone.
And he didn’t notice that traffic in front of him had stopped.
There were four people in the car that was hit, including Jay Hufford who was driving.
“I could see him barreling right up on me and I was terrified.”
Hufford’s wife Sue and his mother Sharon were in the back seat of the car. They were on Highway 12 when traffic came to a stop.
The driver of the truck plowed into them at about 60 miles an hour. Both Sue and Sharon were crushed to death.
Hufford says:
“I had nowhere to go, and I couldn't if I wanted to, I'm stopped.”
The driver of the truck was a 30 year old man from Rhonert Park.
CHP Sgt. Erik Egide says:
“He was looking down at his phone. He may have been texting, that's still being investigated.”
The CHP also says he may have been high on ma*****na.
Sue Hufford was out celebrating her 53rd birthday.
She was a teacher.
She had three kids in college.
Now she’s gone.
And for what?
What is it going to take to get people to stop looking at their cellphone or texting while driving?
In 2012 more than 3000 people were killed by distracted drivers.
That’s nine deaths EVERY day.
And more than 400,000 people were injured by distracted drivers.
That’s more than 1,100 injuries EVERY day.
Is a phone call or a text message really worth all of that?
