First Responders urge people not to drive while distracted

BOONE COUNTY, Ill. (WIFR) - A fatal accident on a Boone County road Monday raises concerns about safety. Some experts point to distracted driving as a big reason for the climbing accident totals. This includes Boone County Fire Protection District Chief Brian Kunce.

Kunce responded to the fatal accident Monday, but as soon as he sat down to do an interview with 23 News on Tuesday about safe driving, he was called to another car crash.

“Today we had a vehicle that rear ended a dump truck, the gentleman fell asleep at the wheel,” Kunce said.

Luckily, there were only minor injuries, but Kunce says incidents like that are cropping up too often in the county.

“People are distracted and speeding, whether they’re under the influence, on the phone, falling asleep, there are so many different things that cause the accidents,” he told 23 News.

In fact, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation, fatal crashes in Boone County have already surpassed the total number for 2020, and there’s still a quarter of the year left. Paul Wappel with IDOT says people caught driving distracted will be punished, because that behavior ends lives.

“You can spend time in jail, you can get fined quite a bit of money as well. not to mention negatively impacting your life potentially for the rest of your life,” he said.

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