Last updated April 12, 2019
As a perfect, but terribly sad, illustration of why we at Sell Cell entreat our customers to never interact with your hand held cell phone while driving appeared in the Chicago area news yesterday. A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by a woman who claims that her father was killed last December by a driver who was updating her Facebook page whilst driving. The story and allegation goes as follows:
Raymond Veloz, a 70 year-old-man, was driving in South Chicago when he got into a minor accident with another car. He got out of his car in order to exchange insurance information and personal details with the other driver when a third party – Araceli Beas – drove her car straight into him. His right leg was partially severed, causing him to bleed to death.
According to both drivers (Ms. Beas and the one with whom Mr. Veloz had the accident), the sun which temporarily blinded them, thus causing the accidents. However, according to the lawsuit filed by Mr. Veloz’ daughter, Ms. Beas’ Facebook page tells a different story. At the time of the accident (as determined by the 911 call), Ms. Beas’ Facebook page was updated – providing strong evidence that it wasn’t just the sun which caused Ms. Beas to not see Mr. Veloz.
It is a tragic tale which serves as a warning to all of us. Do not interact with your cell phone when you are driving. Even engaging in a voice call using a hands-free device is distracting; having your eyes and mind averted while you are busy texting or typing is potentially lethal.