This happened yesterday in Sioux Falls. The biker died today.

http://www.ksfy.com/story/19125196/a...ving-ordinance

A motorcyclist is dead following a five vehicle car crash on Wednesday night. It happened just before 6pm at the corner of 26th Street and Minnesota Avenue in Sioux Falls.

A man driving a Chrysler C300 hit three cars before hitting the motorcycle, driven by Philip Lowel Sorensen, 33.

Police say Brent O'Neal was not only driving 60 miles per hour but he also was texting at the time of the crash.

The Sioux Falls City Council is currently considering a ban on a texting while driving for city streets. The South Dakota AAA says this accident is just another example of how dangerous one text message can be.

In a matter of seconds several lives were forever changed in Wednesday night's multi-car collision, a wreck caused in large part by text messaging.

"People think that because there's no law it's ok when it really isn't." Said Marilyn Buskohl with the South Dakota AAA public affairs.

The local AAA office is hoping to help correct those bad driving habits. Right now through next week AAA has a driving simulator on loan from the Sioux Empire Safety Village. Any driver can come in and witness first hand the effects of distracted driving.

"It's just a good way of showing kids, especially young drivers how just a few seconds with their eyes of the road can have everlasting consequences." Said Buskohl.

But it's not just the young drivers who have a hard time with the simulators. I buckled up for my own test drive. I admit, I thought it would be pretty simple task to drive around, make a few phone calls and send a few text messages. But I quickly learned it only takes a second for an accident to happen.

A fact that was also true in Wednesday's crash. Officer Sam Clemens says it shows why there are rules for the road.

"When you have somebody that's not paying attention of the roadway and driving at that high rate of speed especially with that traffic conditions, it makes for a bad combination. And we've see the worst of what could happen. We've got people with cars damaged and a person in critical condition because of it." Said Officer Clemens.

Knowing that this accident could have been prevented is sobering, but the folks at AAA hope the message sinks in.

"People think it's never going to happen to them when the reality is it does happen and it's happening more and more, we'd like to get the message out any way can that texting and driving or being distracted and driving just aren't a good combination." Said Buskohl.

O'Neal appeared in court Wednesday for charges of careless and reckless driving. He's also charged with felony hit and run and four counts of hit and run, because he ran away after the crash. Since the crash now involves a fatality, more charges may be coming for O'Neal.

 

Huh? "Considering" a ban!? How many senseless deaths do they need before they make it a law?

What a freaking p*ssy...

 

Condolences to friends and family of all involved.

33 years old and still not smart enough to put his phone down when driving. Stupid.

 

The biker was 33. The car driver was 21, spending his birthday in court.

http://www.ksfy.com/story/19118938/s...e-car-accident

UPDATE: Police say the 33-year-old motorcyclist involved in Wednesday's five-vehicle accident in Sioux Falls has died.

Police tell KSFY at 12:59 p.m. Thursday, Philip Lowel Sorensen, the driver of the motorcycle involved in the crash at 26th St. and Minnesota Ave., died from injuries received in the crash. The investigation is continuing.

EARLIER STORY: The motorcycle driver in Wednesday's five-vehicle accident in Sioux Falls is still in critical condition.

Philip Sorensen, 33, of Sioux Falls is still in critical condition. Officer Sam Clemens says a motorcycle helmet was found on scene, but investigators are unclear if he was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

The man who allegedly caused the accident is spending part of his 21st birthday in a Minnehaha County Courtroom Thursday.

Brent O'Neal, 21, of Sioux Falls was arrested for Felony Hit and Run, four counts of Hit and Run, Reckless Driving, Careless Driving, No Insurance and No Seatbelt. O'Neal appeared in court on Thursday. His bond was set at $10,000.

The accident happened at about 5:50 p.m. Wednesday. Sioux Falls police say O'Neal was driving a Chrysler 300 south on Minnesota Avenue at about 60 mph. The Chrysler was in the outside lane and had drifted into the inside lane, striking a Nissan maxima. Police say O'Neal's Chrysler then swerved to the left and struck a Ford in the northbound-inside lane.

However, the accident did not stop there. Sioux Falls police say O'Neal's Chrysler, still in the northbound lane, continued south and struck a Ford mini-van. Immediately after striking the van, the Chrysler ran into a motorcycle and continued traveling southeast into the intersection.

O'Neal's Chrysler continued to travel across the northbound lane and hit a light pole on the south east corner of the intersection. The vehicle continued to drive through some bushes and some landscaping before coming to a rest in the Walgreens parking lot.

Sioux Falls police say when the car stopped O'Neal got out of his car and ran away from the scene. However, witnesses followed the driver and police found O'Neal at the corner of 24th Street and 1St Avenue.

O'Neal was taken to Avera McKennan for treatment of the injuries he received. He was released from the hospital and taken to the Minnehaha County Jail.

Sioux Falls police say the investigation revealed O'Neal was texting with his cell phone when the crash occurred.

Police say the driver of the motorcycle was transported to Avera McKennan Hospital for life-threatening injuries.

 

This is what scares me the most, either being hit from the rear or crossing in front of me because of a stupid text.

 

Texting should be totally outlawed. Done away with. It, along with rap music, has made today's youth totally generic & devoid of any personality at all.

 

Why can't they make it mandatory to have an automatic cell phone jammer installed in every car? You would think that given the technology we have today it could be set up so that as soon as the car is put in gear, whether it be forward or reverse, the jammer would take effect? I've seen tons of cars pulled off to the side of the road because the driver was on their phone. And that's just talking on one! Texting would be impossible unless you stop your car too! This has become ridiculous! How many more people will die before someone will make the change? Making cell phone use in a car against the law won't change a damned thing. As a matter of fact, I think it will make it worse. Then drivers who insist on using the stupid thing while driving will keep it in their lap for fear of being seen by a LEO with it. Their eyes will be directed even further from their task at hand.

 

Phone's/Texting has become a plague.

Went grocery shopping yesterday and on the way there on my bike (only a few items.) on a 4-lane, a car with a driver on the phone started drifting into my lane, honked, got around it and left, in the lot another phone and the driver went into a main driving lane from a parking row lane without noticing the transition causing myself and a car to slam on the brakes to prevent hitting their car. I park the bike and as I try to enter the store some lard-azz is in the entrance stopped with a cart blocking the entrance, oblivious to all around her as she pounds key's.

As I shop I run into Lard-azz on several occasions not actually shopping, but cart in the center of the aisle, always pounding away. I drive home, there is a car half on the shoulder, half in the lane with another oblivious ****** not noticing that traffic is disrupted getting around the car, and there was room to pull fully off the road, just unconcerned and happily yakking away. At least this one made a half-azzed attempt to stop and pull over, but execution was pretty poor.

Just how stupid are we? And just how self absorbed can we get?

As much as I hate more laws, more enforcement, I'm beggining to think that we should have a device to check the proximity of a cell phone, and to automatically check to see if it was in use at the time of the accident. If yes additional fines, if a fatality is the result automatic wrongful death and automatic blame for the accident.

Too many folks dying by distracted morons on these phones.

 

Only $10,000 bail!? The little bastard killed someone and ran from the scene. Where's the linching emoticon!

 

Around here texting and driving is against the law. Hasn't made much difference. I still see the young girls texting and driving all the time.
I even see police talking on handheld cell phones while driving.