Monday, November 2, 2009
PENNSYLVANIA: A 17-year-old on his way to school narrowly escaped killing a woman who had been sleeping on her couch. Seriously. The teenager, who admits he may have been driving over 80 mph on his way to school, crashed into the woman's living room.
OKLAHOMA: An 18-year-old passenger was killed when the car he was riding in hit a dip in the road, lost control, and rolled an unknown number of times. Police say Alan Thomas Jackson was thrown from the vehicle and pinned underneath, and died from massive injuries. The driver, 16-year-old Ashley Edwards, was treated and released from the hospital.
OKLAHOMA: 16-year-old Tiffany Plum died when she veered into oncoming traffic, over corrected, and struck another car. Tiffany was trapped in the wreck for about 15 minutes, before she died. Story here.
MICHIGAN: A 19-year-old died Wednesday after a Monday evening car accident. Joshua Groff died two days after the crash that left him and the driver, 16-year-old Mitchell Chapman, in critical condition. Police say they're not sure what caused the Delton township accident, since it occurred on a gentle curve, no drugs or alcohol was found at the scene, and there were no skid marks at the site.
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Chronicling the ghosts of someone's tragedy: Teens and others who have lost their lives due to car accidents during the 2009-2010 school year.
Why we're doing this
This site may seem a little shocking and gory, and for any family members who found this site by accident, I am sorry for your loss and hope this site does not add any pain to your grieving.
With this site, I am attempting to chronicle teen driving fatalities for one school year to demonstrate to parents and teens the risks associated with driving. I believe teen driving fatalities can be prevented, and that we can change the way people look at this issue much like we changed the way society looked at smoking: It's gone from an acceptable behavior to one that is largely shunned.
I don't mean we should stop teens from driving -- no one can get better at something if they can't practice. But if teens are aware of the behaviors that lead to fatalities, they may begin policing themselves. Telling their friends who are texting or speeding to stop it or slow down. Or calling home and asking mom or dad to come pick them up instead of taking that planned ride home, because they're feeling unsafe.
Driving is the number one cause of death for people aged 16 to 20. In 2008, 4,497 16- to 20-year-olds died in car accidents, accounting for 12% of all auto fatalities.
I hope this site gets people to think, and to talk. Please feel free to post comments, or send along pictures or links to online memorials. I will try to keep the site as PG rated as I can, given the nature of the topic.
Running tally
Total deaths: 143
Drivers: 72
Passengers: 52
Other cars: 7
Pedestrians/others: 13
Unknown position in car: 1
Tally as of Sept. 29, 2009
Start date: August 22, 2009
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