Abington, Mass. Woman, Talking On Cell Phone, Dies In Car Crash (Loaded w/ Irony)

WHDH TV ^ | November 3, 2003 | Associated Press

[Living Free in NH]

WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- An Abington woman, driving and talking on her cell phone, died after her car plowed into a cell phone store in West Bridgewater.

Bethaney Lawton, 20, was not wearing a seat belt when her car crashed into a Cingular Wireless building shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, officer Thomas Richmond said.

"She was on a cell phone, talking to a friend," Richmond said. "She told her friend, 'I'm about to get into an accident.' ... The friend heard the crash, the phone went dead."

Lawton swerved to avoid a utility pole, crossed into the oncoming lane and crashed into the building, Richmond said.

The car was three-fourths into the building, and it took 20 minutes to free her from the wreckage, according to Fire Chief Leonard Hunt. She died while undergoing surgery at Boston Medical Center.

Police said Lawton was alone in her car after dropping off a friend in Bridgewater. She was studying to be an EMT at Massasoit Community College. (AP)

[Tijeras_Slim]

You just don't know where to begin....

[netmilsmom]

Did that utility pole just jump in front of her?
(crashed into a Cingular building while talking on a cell phone *snicker*)

[Smokin' Joe]

Can you hear me now?

[Pan_Yans Wife]

I don't know about you, but I always find it hard to drive down the road, swerving around those utility poles... like an obstacle course! (You'd think they would move them to the SIDE of the road, for safety!) :)

[TrebleRebel]

ping

[Sabertooth]

Yet talk radio encourages drivers to use cell phones by taking their calls first.

[whereasandsoforth]

Live by the phone - die by the phone. When will this phone madness stop? Get phones out of the driver seat! Would anyone complain if their surgeon had a cellular gabfest while operating? Driving requires attention.

Aside: I was at the State Fair of Texas for a number of days last month. I observed about six out of ten people walking around with a phone stuck to the side of their face. I figure people can't even enjoy the simple things anymore. This constant phone crap is absurd.

[mhking]

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[tom h]

"WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- An Abington woman, driving and talking on her cell phone, died after her car plowed into a cell phone store in West Bridgewater."

Foolishness is everywhere but my prayers are out to the unfortunate young woman.

This also reminds me of a similar incident in which a caller didn't die. A woman was ranting in on some radio talk show ... then a shouted, "Oh sh-t!" ... sound of tires screeching ... then "crunch" ... then "You jerk! Look what you made me do to my car!"

Now THAT woman certainly deserved worse than she got.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

"She told her friend, 'I'm about to get into an accident.' ...

She wouldn't give up talking on the phone even then.

[netmilsmom]

>>I don't know about you, but I always find it hard to drive down the road, swerving around those utility poles... like an obstacle course! (You'd think they would move them to the SIDE of the road, for safety!) :)<<

LOL!

[BadAndy]

"...the friend heard the crash, the phone went dead."

and so did the user.

[boris]

"I don't know about you, but I always find it hard to drive down the road, swerving around those utility poles"

Personally I hate it when they jump out in front of you and deliberately try to make you hit them.

[jaugust]

Typical. I've observed people talking on cellphones in restaurants while another family member sat there being ignored. Case in point was the mom yacking on her phone while her little daughter sat there being ignored. While sitting in a doctor's waiting room, a woman stepped off the elavator and disrupted the place while she conducted business on her phone.

Teens are especially guilty. They might be with a group of friends but at least one will be on a cellphone. Men are as guilty (and as airheaded) as women when it comes to cellphone usage in cars. I've quit counting how many people have run red lights at intersections while they've been in their "mobile phonebooth". sheesh!

[biblewonk]

Yup lots of irony.

[ampat]

Headline: "Driver killed by cell phone"

[null and void]

Was it the SUV's fault?

[alaskanfan]

This constant phone crap is absurd.

I couldn't agree more.

One of my friends asked me last summer, during a float fishing trip on the Kasilof river, why I didn't have a cell phone. I told her I didn't feel so important that I needed to be accesible 24/7. That's why God made answering machines.

[Wright is right!]

"I told her I didn't feel so important that I needed to be accesible 24/7. That's why God made answering machines."

There's a great exchange in the movie "First Monday In October" between the Chief Justice and Walter Matthau's Associate Justice character. They are in Matthau's office talking and his phone begins to ring. Matthau ignores it and continues the conversation. The Chief Justice gets uneasy and finally says, "Aren't you going to answer that?"

Matthau's Associate Justice character replies, "A telephone does not have a Constitutional right to be answered."

Michael