The National Safety Council, which monitors traffic safety, reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes every year. As a result of those crashes, nearly 330,000 injuries occur. It is no surprise that distracted driving has been a rising concern. Just talking on the phone used to be the only major concern, but now texting, drinking, grooming, using navigation systems, or just simply talking to passengers are also pulling your eyes from the road.
According to The National Safety Council, texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road. It also notes that answering a text takes away your attention for about five seconds. Traveling at 55 mph for that duration is enough time to travel the length of a football field.
On May 14, 2016, two Grand View men’s volleyball players were involved in an accident as they were coming home from a night out with friends. Around 1:30 a.m. at the intersection of Grand and Pennsylvania Avenues, their car was hit by another that was driving 100 mph. Pedro Cardoso and Felipe Nogueira, both of Brazil, shared their life-changing experiences along with Maria Claussen and myself, who have also suffered from different aspects of distracted driving.
Pedro
Pedro Cardoso, business administration senior and two-time All- American men’s volleyball player, was traveling east on Grand Avenue with passenger Felipe in the car with him. They were headed back to Grand View when the car was suddenly hit.
“I was making a left turn on Pennsylvania Avenue, and I checked the other side. I was in the clear to go, and when I was in the middle of the intersection, I just felt the impact on the passenger side,” Cardoso said.
According to police reports and KCCI news broadcasts, Pedro and Felipe’s car was hit by a drag racer who was traveling at 100 mph.The collision sent their car spinning, launching the engine hundreds of feet and damaging a fire hydrant and light pole in the process.
Cardoso sustained the most injuries, including internal bleeding and tears in both his small and large intestines. He was put into a sedated coma and endured surgery on his intestines just a few hours after the accident occurred.
“The next day when I woke up, I was surprised to see a bunch of friends and all faculty members from Grand View that came to show support, to show love, to show that they were caring for us, and that was amazing to see,” Cardoso said.
Donan Cruz, Grand View men’s volleyball coach, was the first to be notified of the accident. He then notified the mens’ families back in Brazil. Cardoso’s mother was the first on a plane, and his girlfriend made the trip from Ohio to be by Pedro’s side. By morning, President Kent Henning had made his way to this hospital to extend his support. Countless Grand View faculty, students and friends.
17 October 2016
“Not only the day after, but the six days I was in the hospital and even after, people would always stop and show how much they care,” Cardoso said.
The process of healing and moving forward has been a process full of support and love, but it hasn’t always been easy for Cardoso.
“At first, right after the accident, I felt a lot of anger and other negative feelings,” Cardoso said. “I forgive them. I don’t have any hard feelings towards them. It’s just neutral now.”
Cardoso has not been in contact with the driver who caused this life- changing event. The driver suffered from internal bleeding and a broken jaw. Despite the injuries, he avoid his own death as well as causing the death of someone else.
“Sometimes we take things for granted, and we think nothing is going to happen, until they happen,” Cardoso said. “Have a better value of life. Not only your life, but others’ lives because you are also endangering other people.”
Reflecting on the accident, Cardoso encourages others to “have a better understanding and value of their lives and how much it’s worth.” He also urges others to be more mindful of what they are doing and to pay attention.
“Sometimes we end up pursuing things that are not as meaningful, thinking that they are, and we spend a lot of energy and time on things that are completely irrelevant,” Cardoso said. “Nowadays, I have a much broader and greater sense of appreciation for life.”
Felipe
Felipe Noguiera, business administration senior and men’s volleyball player, was the passenger in the car with Pedro Cardoso.
“I remember seeing two cars, two blocks away, and I thought we would make it easily,” Noguiera said. “Once we started turning, they came out of nowhere. There was nothing we could do.”
One of the cars drag racing slammed into the passengers’ front right side, sending Cardoso and Noguiera’s vehicle spinning. Once the vehicle stopped spinning, Noguiera noticed Cardoso in pain.
“I thought he was going to die,” Noguiera said. “All he could say was ‘my belly really hurts.’”
In hopes of helping Cardoso, Noguiera got out of the vehicle. That’s when he realized how much damage had been done. Noguiera also noticed people surrounding the accident, and they advised Nogueira to wait for the paramedics to arrive.
Noguiera started feeling dizzy and noticed a lot of blood pouring out of his head, which eventually left him
in need of a blood transfusion. When the paramedics arrived, both Cardoso and Noguiera were laid on stretchers and put in neck braces before being transported to Mercy Medical Center in separate ambulances. On the ride to the hospital, the paramedics tried gathering information about the accident and had Noguiera recall details to keep
him awake.
Once at the hospital, Cardoso and Noguiera were reunited and put in the same room Noguiera had X-Rays and plastic surgery on his face in the Intensive Care Unit. Doctors gave him local anesthesia, and he stayed awake the whole night while Cardoso was in an induced coma. Along with his head injury, Noguiera suffered from minimal nerve damage that is slowly healing over time. The seat belt he was wearing broke his sternum.
Following the accident, Noguiera found out details of the accident through a KCCI News segment, where he found the names of the people involved. He looked up the driver and passenger on Facebook, but has no desire to talk to them.
“I don’t hate him, but I have no reason to be his friend,” Noguiera said. “I just hope they learn something out of it.”
When Noguiera learned the driver who hit them was drag racing, he urges those who participate in the race culture to “practice in a place that is appropriate.”
“It’s hard because I sometimes, even after the accident, caught myself on the phone or texting,” Noguiera said. “Don’t do it. You never know what can happen. When you realize, you’re already in the hospital.”
After experiencing this accident, Noguiera has found a new way of approaching life.
“I feel like I am more grateful for what I have, what I am doing,”Noguiera said. “My life is more meaningful. I’m just grateful to be alive, and I want to make it count.”
Maria
In 2012, Maria Claussen of Elkhart, Iowa, was your typical seventeen-year-old. She was headed home from a canceled local football game, when her life-changing moment happened.
It was a stormy, dark night when she was driving eastbound on the 1700 block of NE 142nd Ave. near Alleman, Iowa. Around 8 p.m., as she was texting and driving, she struck a 42-year-old Ankeny bicyclist from behind, who was also a teacher at Garton Elementary School.
“Next thing I knew, I was in the left lane and felt the impact and shattered glass,” Claussen said.
She searched for her phone to use as a flashlight to see outside, and when she came across the biker, he was alive but she noticed his head and feet were facing opposite directions. Unaware of the proper safety techniques, she turned the man’s shoulder flat on the ground before calling 911. A car soon stopped and the driver took over the conversation with the dispatcher
Over the next hour, paramedics and police arrived on the scene along with Claussen’s parents and brother. As she waited to be interviewed by police, she thought about the legal trouble involved with the accident along with how it was going to affect her ability to run in an upcoming cross country meet.
Returning to school was a difficult task for Claussen. Growing up in a small town, everyone knows each other and news travels fast. By Monday, everyone had heard a rumor of what had happened.
“When they looked at me, they saw me as ‘that girl’,” Claussen said.
At the encouragement of her cross country coach, she sat her team down and told them the details of what had happened that previous Friday.
During the accident, Claussen suffered minor cuts, while the bicyclist she struck suffered from a crushed thoracic vertebra that inevitably paralyzed him from the chest down.
That fall, Claussen received citations for use of an electronic communications device while driving and improperly overtaking a vehicle. In January 2013, the bicyclist committed suicide, leaving behind his wife.
Claussen hopes people can learn from her life choices and make a conscious effort to pay attention behind the wheel.
“This does not define me,” Claussen explained when reflecting on the accident and the aftermath that followed. “I’m not in control of my own life, but I’m in control of my choices.”
Claussen is now in her senior year at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, where she will graduate this December with a degree in studio art. She is involved as a youth group leader and leads high school Bible studies while she heads the women’s ministry for Simpson’s ministry, The Light Company.
Taylor
My name is Taylor Roseboom, and in 2013, I was a sophomore at Grand View when my life changed forever as a result of distracted driving. On October 19, I enjoyed a night at my friends’ house just off of campus. In the morning, I learned my brother, Michael Schmidt, had died during the night in a single-vehicle accident.
My brother was traveling west on 120th Street, south of Gray, Iowa, when he fell asleep at the wheel and crossed the center line. He continued along the left shoulder and then was ejected from the vehicle before it rolled down a ditch and landed in a field. When sheriff personnel arrived at the scene around 3:30 a.m., Micheal, 21, was pronounced dead.
When my mother told me, I felt my world stop in that moment. My first thoughts were: Did he suffer? Is this real? Why? The next few days felt like one continuous day, and when the funeral processions were over and the shock wore off, it was real. A brother, a son, and a friend was gone with no second chance. No goodbye.
After the fall 2013 semester, I withdrew as a full-time student to focus on financially supporting myself and to regain focus of my life and life choices. In my brother’s will, he had specified each of his siblings to receive financial compensation, and with my share, I returned to Grand View in the fall of 2015. I am now in my senior year and will be graduating in April of 2017, all thanks to him.
When I was regaining focus of my life, I reflected on his and the way he approached it; I wanted to honor his life and who he was. The loss of my brother pushed me into opening my eyes. With this loss, I gained a new appreciation for my education and where it will take me in my life. My relationships mean more, and I value the people in my life, knowing that anyone can be taken at any time without a warning.
Driving distracted is something we are all guilty of. Whether it’s be sending that last text or checking our hair in the rear-view mirror, we have all made those choices. Yet, we are still here while others aren’t so lucky. Urges and momentary decisions could have a lifetime effect. Next time you are driving, think if your life or someone else’s life is worth taking.
