Texting & Driving Statistics
- 1 out of every 4 car accidents in the United States is caused by TEXTING & DRIVING
- In fact, at any given time throughout the day, approximately 660,000 drivers are attempting to use their phones while behind the wheel of an automobile
- 26% of all motor vehicle crashes are related to the use of cell phones
- 69% of U.S. drivers between the ages of 18-64 admitted to using their cell phone while driving during the previous month
- Each day, 11 teens die in crashes caused by TEXTING & DRIVING
- The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year
- TEXTING & DRIVING makes crashing 23X more likely EVERY DAY
Why is it Our Mission to help End Distracted Driving?
Our close friend lost his brother, a beloved father & son, in a tragic accident to a driver who was texting & driving.
On June 27th at 9pm, West Virginia couple, Justin Ransone, 41, and Amy Lee Abbott, 45, pulled over on route 288 to stop and help a pregnant 25 year old, Linli Xu, as her car was disabled on the left side of the highway after she hit a deer. As they were standing in the grass median, Claire Carr, 53, was approaching them in the left lane nearing the median. She was texting and not paying attention to what was happening in front of her, by the time she looked up she was swerving into the median to avoid hitting Linli's car only left with enough time to just tap her breaks before striking and killing Justin, Amy, and Linli.
This accident was at night and yes it was dark, but on this stretch of the highway, the road was straight, Linli's car was pulled off to the left of the highway, Justin and Amy's car was pulled over to the right. Both cars had their flashers on, on both sides of the highway. This accident was easily avoidable if Claire Carr was just looking at the road. There is no way anyone could miss them going either direction on the highway. Carr survived with minor injuries and is indicted on 3 accounts of involuntary manslaughter and her life is ruined forever, not to mention the lives of her family.
Now there are 4 innocent lives lost. Linli leaves behind her husband after just recently getting married and they were expecting their first baby in the next few months. Two young teenage boys are now left without their father, Justin. And two more boys are now left without their mother, Abby. Our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers, remain with these families. There are a lot of stories out there like this, but this one hit way to close to home. Now we are on a mission to bring awareness to how devastating, tragic, and mindless texting and driving is and can be. If it hasn't affected you already, it is only a matter of time before it will. You could be the victim or you could be the suspect. It's time to make a change, it's time to STOP.
This accident was at night and yes it was dark, but on this stretch of the highway, the road was straight, Linli's car was pulled off to the left of the highway, Justin and Amy's car was pulled over to the right. Both cars had their flashers on, on both sides of the highway. This accident was easily avoidable if Claire Carr was just looking at the road. There is no way anyone could miss them going either direction on the highway. Carr survived with minor injuries and is indicted on 3 accounts of involuntary manslaughter and her life is ruined forever, not to mention the lives of her family.
Now there are 4 innocent lives lost. Linli leaves behind her husband after just recently getting married and they were expecting their first baby in the next few months. Two young teenage boys are now left without their father, Justin. And two more boys are now left without their mother, Abby. Our hearts, our thoughts, our prayers, remain with these families. There are a lot of stories out there like this, but this one hit way to close to home. Now we are on a mission to bring awareness to how devastating, tragic, and mindless texting and driving is and can be. If it hasn't affected you already, it is only a matter of time before it will. You could be the victim or you could be the suspect. It's time to make a change, it's time to STOP.
Chesterfield woman facing involuntary manslaughter charges in route 288 crash that killed 3; Civil lawsuits pending over incident
By SEAN GORMAN Richmond Times-Dispatch
A Chesterfield County woman was indicted Tuesday in connection with a June crash that killed three people standing along state Route 288 in Goochland County.Claire C. Carr, a 53-year-old attorney who lives in north Chesterfield, was indicted on three charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Carr also faces civil lawsuits seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages filed in Goochland Circuit Court in recent months by the families of each of the three victims. One suit claims Carr was texting at the time of the accident.
Carr was driving a 2016 Audi Q5 south on state Route 288 near West Creek Parkway around 9 p.m. on June 27 when she came upon a 2015 Mercedes
CLA 250 that was disabled in the left lane after striking a deer, according to the Virginia State Police.
The driver of the Mercedes, Linli Xu, a 25-year-old Midlothian woman, had gotten out of the vehicle after hitting the animal. A Glen Allen couple — Justin C. Ransone, 41, and Amy Lee Abbott, 45 — stopped in a 2006 Chevrolet Suburban alongside the right shoulder and crossed over the road to help Xu, police said.
Police said Xu, who was five months pregnant, was standing in a grass median with Ransone and Abbott to the left of the disabled Mercedes, when Carr’s vehicle approached. Carr, traveling in the left lane, swerved left to avoid the Mercedes and struck the three victims, police said.
The hazard lights of the Mercedes and the Chevrolet SUV were both flashing on a night when the weather was clear and traffic was light, police said in a search warrant in the case.
D. Michael Caudill, the commonwealth’s attorney for Goochland, declined to comment on the facts of the case on Tuesday. Family members of the three victims in recent months filed separate lawsuits, each seeking more than $25 million in damages against Carr and her law firm, Kalbaugh, Pfund & Messersmith. The separate lawsuits from each family claim that at the time of the accident, Carr was driving a vehicle that was provided to her by that firm for business use.
The three family’s lawsuits accuse Carr of driving too fast and disregarding the Mercedes’ emergency lights, which the litigation says were visible from at least a half-mile away. The lawsuits accuse Carr of being negligent in how she drove the vehicle and the litigation alleges she caused the three deaths. The lawsuit filed by Xu’s husband also charges that Carr was texting in the seconds before the crash.
In written responses, an attorney for Carr and her law firm denied the allegations against them, and asserted that the defendants are not guilty of any negligence. Jury trials in the civil cases have been scheduled to take place in 2019 and 2020.
Carr could not be reached for comment at her law firm Tuesday. An attorney who represents Carr and KPM in the civil lawsuits did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment on the litigation.
Carr’s initial appearance on the criminal charges is scheduled for Nov. 13.
By SEAN GORMAN Richmond Times-Dispatch
A Chesterfield County woman was indicted Tuesday in connection with a June crash that killed three people standing along state Route 288 in Goochland County.Claire C. Carr, a 53-year-old attorney who lives in north Chesterfield, was indicted on three charges of involuntary manslaughter.
Carr also faces civil lawsuits seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages filed in Goochland Circuit Court in recent months by the families of each of the three victims. One suit claims Carr was texting at the time of the accident.
Carr was driving a 2016 Audi Q5 south on state Route 288 near West Creek Parkway around 9 p.m. on June 27 when she came upon a 2015 Mercedes
CLA 250 that was disabled in the left lane after striking a deer, according to the Virginia State Police.
The driver of the Mercedes, Linli Xu, a 25-year-old Midlothian woman, had gotten out of the vehicle after hitting the animal. A Glen Allen couple — Justin C. Ransone, 41, and Amy Lee Abbott, 45 — stopped in a 2006 Chevrolet Suburban alongside the right shoulder and crossed over the road to help Xu, police said.
Police said Xu, who was five months pregnant, was standing in a grass median with Ransone and Abbott to the left of the disabled Mercedes, when Carr’s vehicle approached. Carr, traveling in the left lane, swerved left to avoid the Mercedes and struck the three victims, police said.
The hazard lights of the Mercedes and the Chevrolet SUV were both flashing on a night when the weather was clear and traffic was light, police said in a search warrant in the case.
D. Michael Caudill, the commonwealth’s attorney for Goochland, declined to comment on the facts of the case on Tuesday. Family members of the three victims in recent months filed separate lawsuits, each seeking more than $25 million in damages against Carr and her law firm, Kalbaugh, Pfund & Messersmith. The separate lawsuits from each family claim that at the time of the accident, Carr was driving a vehicle that was provided to her by that firm for business use.
The three family’s lawsuits accuse Carr of driving too fast and disregarding the Mercedes’ emergency lights, which the litigation says were visible from at least a half-mile away. The lawsuits accuse Carr of being negligent in how she drove the vehicle and the litigation alleges she caused the three deaths. The lawsuit filed by Xu’s husband also charges that Carr was texting in the seconds before the crash.
In written responses, an attorney for Carr and her law firm denied the allegations against them, and asserted that the defendants are not guilty of any negligence. Jury trials in the civil cases have been scheduled to take place in 2019 and 2020.
Carr could not be reached for comment at her law firm Tuesday. An attorney who represents Carr and KPM in the civil lawsuits did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment on the litigation.
Carr’s initial appearance on the criminal charges is scheduled for Nov. 13.