Published: April 07, 2009 10:46 pm         

Police: Cell phones distract drivers

ROCKVILLE — Going 60 mph on a two-lane highway near Turkey Run State Park, Ann Waymire encountered something Saturday she hopes never to see again.

A Jeep was speeding toward her, in her lane. The male driver had crossed the center line of Indiana 47 while reaching down to grab his cell phone from a cup holder, police said. The Tipton woman swerved her car onto the shoulder of the road as the Jeep flashed by.

“I dropped my car into a ditch long enough to get him by me,” she said. “It’s quite unnerving to see a [Jeep] coming right at you. I’m glad that ditch was long enough to handle it.”

Within seconds, the Jeep collided with the next vehicle coming from the opposite direction, driven by Kevin Boicourt of Darlington. The impact killed Boicourt’s passenger, 26-year-old Chad Simmons of Crawfordsville.

“I think this crash should be a fervent reminder of the dangers of using cell phones or any other device that distracts the driver,” said Sgt. Joe Watts of Indiana State Police. “There’s going to be some lives and families changed forever because of someone taking their attention from the roadway.”

The Jeep’s driver, F.N. Lutz III, 17, of West Lafayette, was not seriously injured. He was cited for driving left of center. State Police have not finished their report and toxicology results may not be available for weeks, Watts said. All the information will be turned over to the Parke County prosecutor to determine if any charges will be filed.

Indiana is not one of the five U.S. states that ban hands-on cell phone usage by motorists. Watts is more concerned with the overall problem of driver distraction — any kind.

“We constantly work crashes when people have been eating, applying makeup, putting in a CD or have some other type of music distraction. Any time you divert your attention from the roadway, there’s a drastic chance for a crash,” he said.

After Lutz whizzed by, Waymire looked into her rear-view mirror and saw the collision. She stopped her car and walked to the scene and found Lutz out of his car.

“He was trying to comprehend everything, he was real shaken up,” Waymire said. Lutz admitted to her that he had been reaching for his phone when he ran her off the road, she said. She approached Boicourt’s car and saw one man living, one dead. “I told [Lutz] not to go around the car because the one had expired, and that ‘you shouldn’t see this.’ ”

Lutz couldn’t find his cell phone after the crash, and she dialed his number from her own phone so he could hear it, locate it and call his parents.

The Jeep and Boicourt’s car collided in the middle of the roadway with the Jeep in the wrong lane and Boicourt going left to avoid collision, according to a report by crash reconstructionist Charlie Funk of the Vigo County Sheriff’s Department. Lutz admitted to police he crossed the center line because of the cell phone distraction, the report states.

“Just that split second of looking down and you’re going to be across that center line in a millisecond,” Watts said. “There’s no replacement for paying attention.”

Boicourt, 22, was listed in critical condition Tuesday in Methodist Hospital at Indianapolis.

John D. Wright can be reached at john.wright@tribstar.com or (812) 231-4255.