THOMASVILLE, Ga. – A South Georgia woman who was badly hurt in a crash caused by a driver who was on her phone has a strong message for people who do this.
Cindy Willis, who was hurt by a driver who was sidetracked, said, “Driving again is giving me a lot of stress and anxiety.”
In February 2023, Willis was on her way to work when a driver going the wrong way hit her head-on. This caused her car to flip over. In the picture below, you can see her arm while she was stuck in her car for an hour while EMS tried to get her out.
“Losing my freedom has been a very hard thing for me. “On top of that, there’s the mental part of the crash. You see this car coming at you, and I can’t stop thinking about that bumper,” Willis said.
Cindy had to get surgery for a broken bone the same night she was kicked out of school. The Georgia State Patrol has since said that the crash was caused by a driver who was sidetracked.
The person who did it got a ticket and a fine, and a case has been filed against them. Still, Willis says that the fine isn’t enough to make up for all the pain and loss she’s had to deal with.
“If people would just put their phones down and realize that nothing on their phones is so important that they can’t wait to check it when they’re in a safe place. Willis said, “It would make a huge difference.”
Willis said that she is glad to be alive today. As the number of people killed by drivers who are distracted rises, many victims are not as lucky.
The CDC says that about 3,000 people die every year in car accidents where a driver was sidetracked. According to the Georgia Department of Driver Services, there were more than 50,000 charges for careless driving in 2022. Sergeant Robert Corbin of the Georgia State Patrol says that these reports can be stopped.
Corbin said, “As state troopers, we are trying to solve this very serious problem.” “Every month here, hundreds, I mean hundreds, of driving contacts are distracting.”
Even though April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Corbin said he and his post work on this problem every day of the year.
“People need to realize that they can’t use their smart phones. “But cell phones aren’t the only thing that can get in the way,” he said.
Distracted driving also includes fiddling with your radio, eating, putting on makeup, and even having a pet in your lap. Most of the time, though, people are sidetracked by their phones, which is what happened to Willis and changed his life forever.
“I’m very worried that this will happen again if there are cars nearby,” she said.
