One Teen’s Texting While Driving Nightmare | Washington Car Accident Attorney

Blog Categories:

Recently, many states have passed bans making it illegal to text and drive. It is a dangerous distraction that causes some of the worst auto accidents. As a Washington car accident attorney and Bellevue personal injury lawyer, I urge drivers to never use handheld cell phones behind the wheel. Several seconds of texting might just land you in a ditch on the other side of the road. At least that’s what happened to one teenage driver.

Not long ago, Madison Golden found herself in a terrifying auto accident that continues to haunt her. Golden was 16 when the accident occurred on October 2, 2008.

She asked her mother if she could drive into town and grab breakfast. Her mom reluctantly agreed.

Madison was driving back to school when she received a text message. She looked down at her phone for several seconds. That is all it took for her to lose control of her vehicle and drift through oncoming traffic to the opposite side of the road. When she realized what was happening, she abruptly turned the steering wheel, causing her Pontiac G5 to flip over 2 ½ times before landing in a ditch.
When the car finally stopped, she found herself hanging upside down from her seatbelt.

For weeks after the crash, she was haunted by nightmares of the incident.
Another driver said that if Madison had been driving any faster, she may have hit her, making the situation even worse.

Distracted driving appears to be particularly prevalent among teenage drivers. We recently launched a campaign, Teens Against Distracted Driving, to help educate new drivers about the dangers of texting while driving. By taking the pledge against distracted driving, you can help make our roads safer.

This information is provided by Straight Talk Law, where you can order free information on Washington auto accidents, buying auto insurance, and other valuable legal information, offered as a public service by Bellevue personal injury lawyer and author Jason Epstein and his King County car accident, Seattle motorcycle accident, and Seattle wrongful death law firm in Seattle, Washington.