The News Wheel
2 Comments

Woman Dies After Posting Selfie While Driving

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

Is your social media presence worth your life?

texting while driving

No text, selfie, or message is worth your life
Photo: Intel Free Press

If you are a person with a brain, chances are you know that texting while driving is a bad idea. So why, then, do so many drivers continue to do just that? Statistics show that the average time your eyes are off the road while texting is five seconds—long enough to travel the length of a football field at 55mph. A lot can go wrong in those five seconds—and one young driver recently paid for it with her life.


Safer Driving: Learn about how Toyota Safety Sense can keep you secure on the road



Last year, Courtney Sanford, 32, posted a selfie on Facebook when Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy” came on the radio as she was driving 45mph. The image is chilling, as is the caption, “The happy song makes me HAPPY!” because these ended up being her last words. The image was posted to Facebook at 8:33am. One minute later, emergency services received a call from another driver reporting that Courtney had veered across the center median, collided with a recycling truck, left the road, hit a tree, and burst into flames. It’s no surprise that Courtney was instantly killed.

Courtney’s story is tragic—perhaps even more tragic because her death could so easily have been avoided.

Scary ads warning of the dangers of texting and driving are easily muted or turned off, but this story is real life. Perhaps, if enough people hear Courtney’s story, she won’t have died in vain, and many more lives will be saved as drivers realize that texting and driving is no joke—it’s a serious issue that must be addressed to prevent more tragedies like this from occurring.


Safety 101: Learn why your tire tread matters