According to NBC DFW, a 17-year old girl was killed in an car accident on November 8. The report detailed that she was texting at the time that she was driving. Accident photos showed her vehicle after it slammed into a wall.

According to the reporting, the accident took place on West Exchange Parkway in Allen. The driver was texting on her cell phone with her sister and her boyfriend, according to investigators. Her vehicle went off the road and hit the curb. It them plowed into the rock wall. She died at the scene.

Texting while driving is particularly dangerous. Using any type of electronic device that is not hands-free and that requires you to actually look at the device while driving is also dangerous. Accidents involving these devices are increasingly common. Even pedestrians have been struck by vehicles, not paying attention while they looked at their phones and failing to avoid oncoming cars they should have seen.

This danger extends to devices such as car radios, GPS units and other devices that can distract drivers. Remember that a car can travel a long way in the time it takes to look down at a device. Particularly if you’re reading texts, this can mean travelling far enough for someone or something to come into your path of travel, to miss a hazard that you could not see before you looked down or to simply lose control of your vehicle.

If you are injured by a driver who is texting a driving, contact an accident lawyer in Dallas. Not paying attention is a form of negligence and no one ever has a valid reason for doing it. When you’re in your vehicle, use hand’s free devices to talk, don’t text and make sure you pull over somewhere safe before you make a call or send a text.