Teenage car crashes aren’t always fault of teen

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers according to the Center of Disease Control, and most people believe these wrecks are almost always the fault of said teenagers. However, that’s not always the case. Recently, the majority of accidents close to home have been caused by the opposite driver.

On the night of Sept 4, Junior Daniel Shipp was turning left at a green arrow when he was slammed into by a Jeep. Both cars were wrecked beyond repair.

“The lady in the Jeep was texting and driving. [If she hadn’t] been I wouldn’t have gotten hit,” Shipp said.

Junior Tanner Smithson had a similar incident while crossing a lane of traffic.

“The lady was speeding and texting and she hit me,” Smithson said. “It was her fault.”

The right side of junior Brooke Vincent’s car was completely crushed to the point where she couldn’t open the passenger door. She was crossing Ballard on Oak Street when she was hit.

“A large blue dump truck sped up to make the light. The force of the impact spun my car,” Vincent said. “He was going 15 mph over the speed limit.”

One thing they have in common is that it was not their faults. All three teens say that while of course there was a way the crash could have been avoided, it would not have mattered if the driver of the other car was driving safer.

“She got a ticket for texting and driving and running a red light. She was not hurt at all and her new Jeep was totaled,” Shipp said.

Vincent described her accident as surreal as she didn’t realize what was happening right away.

“Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion,” Vincent said. “After the accident I was just in shock and sobbing.”

It was not just the cars that were damaged, though, the students were shaken up and injured as well.

“I had a very bad bruised left knee and had to wear a brace for three days,” Shipp said. “I was burned by the airbag and bruised on my right wrist and had to get an x-ray.”

The car crashes had other lasting effects on the students, mentally and emotionally.

“I would tell her, ‘I hope you learned your lesson in texting and driving.’ I learned to always expect the unexpected,” Shipp said. “I’m blessed that my friends and I are alive.”