Since the first of June, 6 teenagers in Central North Carolina have lost their lives in vehicle crashes. A 17 year old high school senior died in a Harnett County crash when her car ran off the road on N.C. Highway 210 and she over-corrected while bringing the vehicle back onto the roadway. After losing control, she hit another vehicle head-on and died at the scene.
The day prior, 3 teenage boys were killed when the 16 year old driver lost control while speeding at over 120 mph. The driver and two of the three passengers were killed when the vehicle struck at tree at approximately 90 mph.
And just prior to that crash, another teen lost his life when he took his sister’s car for a joyride at 1:00 a.m. and the vehicle rolled over after he ran off the road. A passenger who was a neighbor of this boy was seriously injured but survived.
These teenagers, according to all news reports were good students with bright futures. Sadly, their hopes and dreams and the promise of future successes ended in tragedy for them as well as their families. If you could bring any one of these teens back, they would tell you without question they never believed something like this would happen to them.
The truth is, it happens every day to more than 10 teenagers on average. Tragedies such as these don’t discriminate. Teenage vehicle fatalities claim the lives of good students and bad students. They involve teenagers of every race, creed and religion. No teenager is exempt from the risk that it can and very likely could happen to them.
As these recent tragedies exemplify, driving truly is a matter of life and death for teenagers in America.