Posted in Uncategorized on April 9, 2013
Stories from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Tulsa World are reporting a fatality car accident Monday evening in Muskogee County that involved two vehicles. According to those reports, Jeremy Norwalk died when the 2002 Pontiac he was driving crossed the center line and struck a 2012 Nissan pickup driving westbound on Oklahoma 16 three miles south of Haskell around 6 p.m.
The driver of the pickup, Jonathan Duncan of Edmond, sustained injuries and was transported to St. John’s Medical Center in stable condition. Duncan’s vehicle rolled onto its side following the crash with Norwalk.
The reports do not identify a cause for the accident– other than Norwalk driving left of center. Although it is not clear from the reports, driving left of center during clear conditions could indicate that something distracted Norwalk.
There are a multitude of factors that could distract a driver, and recent legislation proposed in Oklahoma has specifically targeted texting while driving. Opponents of texting while driving have identified several studies indicating that texting while driving is more dangerous than driving under the influence by several magnitudes. Despite the dangers of texting while driving, the Oklahoma House Bill 1503, which would place limitations on texting while driving, is unlikely to receive a vote during this session.