Police investigate whether driver distraction to blame for 3-vehicle crash in Pittsfield Township
Police say the driver of this white Ford Contour caused a three-vehicle collision on Platt Road in Pittsfield Township on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of the Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety
Pittsfield Township police are investigating whether distracted driving caused by a cell phone was to blame for a three-vehicle crash that injured two people Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Pittsfield Township man determined to be at fault in the crash was ticketed for careless driving, no proof of registration and no insurance, police said.
Township Deputy Director of Police Services Gordy Schick said the man was driving his Ford Contour south on Platt Road near Morgan Road at 4:40 p.m. when he crossed into oncoming traffic. His car drove into the path of a northbound semi tractor-trailer carrying cargo, Schick said.
A semi tractor-trailer came to rest in a field off Platt Road following a three-vehicle crash.
Photo courtesy of the Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety
The semi driver attempted to brake and his rig skidded into the Contour, sending the car spinning multiple times, Schick said. The semi then struck another southbound vehicle, ran over a fire hydrant and came to rest in a field.
Schick said the semi driver did a "miraculous job" of ensuring the crash didn't turn fatal. "This could have been a lot worse," he said.
The 27-year-old driver of the at-fault vehicle was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries, and the 61-year-old Saline resident driving the other southbound vehicle also was hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries, Schick said.
The 41-year-old semi driver from North Carolina was not injured.
Witnesses told police the driver was using a cell phone at the time, but he denied it, Schick said.
The crash, which closed the roadway for about two hours, remains under investigation.
Comments
graceekerr
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 9:39 a.m.
I want to be able to have my cell phone in case of an emergency, but I am smart enough to know when to use it. I never talk while driving. If I need to make a call I pull over to a safe place and then call. I don't answer it when driving. If there is another person in the car they can answer it. I am over 60 and have broken down and waited over 3 hours in the middle of winter before someone pulled over to ask if I needed help. If I had a cell phone then I wouldn't have been sooooo cold.
15crown00
Sat, Oct 23, 2010 : 10:59 p.m.
cellphones causing an accident?imagine that those things are the scourge of modern day society and NEED to BE BANNED if another human being is within 5,000 yards of u in any direction. don't start the mindless clip clap about "i need my phone in case there is an emergency."i venture to say 99.99% of the calls made on these evil things aren't about emergencies but more about making plans for something or playing the the CYA game with whoever
bob
Sat, Oct 23, 2010 : 12:17 p.m.
Police cannot compel an individual to turn over their cell phone if they do not want to. The police would have to get a search warrant.
walker101
Sat, Oct 23, 2010 : 8:32 a.m.
Why don't they just make it mandatory to check cell phone records every time they have an accident? Also hard could it be to ask to see their phone and check to see if the phone was being used.
irongrl
Sat, Oct 23, 2010 : 8:04 a.m.
His cell phone records can be checked to determine whether or not he was using it at the time of the accident.
Alysha
Fri, Oct 22, 2010 : 11:52 p.m.
hmmm, i was wondering what had happened when i attempted to take platt road on my way home from work and had to turn around the other day. thank goodness everyone had minor injuries.
clara
Fri, Oct 22, 2010 : 11:24 p.m.
... and no one bothered to look at his phone to see if it was in use at the time of the crash?