Fatal Text Message Released by Parents of Student

Fatal Text Message Released by Parents of Student
Jack Phillips
4/11/2013
Updated:
4/11/2013

Fatal text message: The parents of a Colorado university student released the last, unsent text message that he was typing out before he died in a car crash.

Alexander Heit, 22, died in a car crash on April 3 in Greeley, Colo. His parents hope that by releasing the text message, it will serve as a reminder for motorists not to text and drive at the same time.

“Sounds good my man, seeya soon, ill tw,” the text message reads, which was going to be sent to a friend before he crashed. He was a student at the University of Northern Colorado, studying audiology.

“I can’t bear the thought of anyone else having to go through something like this,” his mother, Sharon Heit wrote, in a release sent to the Greeley Tribune.

She added, “Please, vow to never, NEVER text and drive. In a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who loves you.”

Sgt. Susan West of the Greeley Police Department said that Heit began drifting into the oncoming lane of traffic. An oncoming vehicle moved out of the way and he jerked the steering wheel in the opposite direction before rolling his vehicle.

Witnesses said that he appeared to have his head down during the incident before he looked up and grabbed the whele.

“Unfortunately, when we think to ourselves, ‘I’ll just do it this one time,’ we are fooling ourselves,” said Greeley Police Chief Jerry Garner, referring to texting and driving.

A recent study from AT&T found that adults text and drive more than teenagers do.

“Commuters are texting and driving even more than teens – 49 percent, compared to 43 percent,” AT&T said last month. “And the problem has gotten worse. Six in 10 commuters say they never texted while driving three years ago.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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