Distracted driving causes Aptos man to crash, police say

The California Highway Patrol stepped up patrols for the Labor Day Weekend. The “Maximum Enforcement Period” ends Monday and while we’re still waiting for the results to come out, NewsChannel 5 saw the dangers of texting and driving firsthand.

A 19-year-old man learned the hard way about distracted driving. CHP officers said he was texting while driving on Larkin Valley Road near Buena Vista in Watsonville when he crashed. They said he ran off the road, hit a utility pole, which was sheared in half. But he was wearing a seat belt and walked away unhurt.

CHP officers said they’re seeing more cases of distracted driving these days.

“People are using their cell phones for so much more than talking on the phone,” Officer Sam Courtney said.

Like using navigation systems, music services, even worse, social media. According to a recent survey from AT&T, 61 percent of drivers text. Around a third of the people surveyed admitted to using email, surfing the web or checking Facebook. Others admitted to taking pictures, including selfies. In this case, the driver’s wake up call came in the form of a crash.

“You could see the look on his face,” Officer Courtney said. “It’s real and as soon as we walked up to him, he was admittedly telling us, “Yeah, I was texting and driving. And he was shocked looking at his new truck that was totaled. And what kind of damage happened as a result of that.”

CHP said speed doesn’t appear to be a factor. No word yet if the driver could face any citations.