Gina was 19 years old and in her first year on a division one dance team at a university in upstate New York. Her dream was to have the honor of dancing with an international dance troupe and travel the world. After one fatal decision and barley making it alive out of a PREVENTABLE car accident, she was forced to give up her dream and would never function normal again. Gina had broken four bones in her right arm, three upper ribs, her lower back, and her color bone. She also suffered from a lacerated liver, bruised heart, a dual brain injury, and the median nerve which is the nerve that makes your thumb move was found in her right temple. Before being pulled from her car Gina suffered a massive stroke. Due to the stroke she was forced to re-learn her basic motor functions. Reading, writing, walking, talking and so on.
The stroke had left her with a permanent paralyzed right arm, right hand, ankle, and toes. All of this was a result of her decision to take her eyes off of the road for a few short seconds to read a text message before colliding head on with a tree. Gina is extremely lucky to be alive but unfortunately she is also a statistic. Though I do not know Gina personally, her story is compelling. My intentions are to persuade you to think twice before you reach for your phone while behind the wheel. Tonight you will be made aware of dangers of texting while driving, it's relation to drunk driving, and the texting and driving law in Pennsylvania.
Let's talk about the dangers of texting while driving. Before that though I want to first make aware of a few facts. Virginia Tech studies show that drivers are...