Members of the North Royalton Chamber of Commerce met at Carrie Cerino’s Ristorante on Wednesday, April 19, for their monthly meeting. Amy Kuntz and Sherie Stafford, from the Partnership for a Healthy North Royalton, talked about the Heroin epidemic and their three-part presentation that deals with the issue. (See Heroin article)
A presentation was given by Chamber Board Member Kevin Lynch, who also works for AT&T, one of the largest providers of cell phone service. Lynch noted that “with that comes responsibility.” He said that there are many who are not paying attention to what they are doing and are taking their eyes off the road, when driving. “How many times have you come up to a traffic light and looked over to a driver next to you bowing their heads?” Lynch said that the average text may take about four seconds to look at, which would equate to the length of a football field, when traveling on the highway; or about 50 yards on a street going 30 mph.
Lynch said that adults say that this is a kids’ problem, but 77% of children have seen their parents text and drive. “We’ve become conditioned to the phone. When it sounds, you have to pick it up.” AT&T is promoting the slogan, “It Can Wait.” For AT&T cell phone customers, there is an app that intersects texts and voice call messages with an auto reply. The phone can be programmed to shut down except for dialing 911 calls.
A video of Channel 5’s Chris Flanagan’s Frontline Heroes was then played, which talked about a young man whose life changed forever because someone was texting and driving. A few years ago, David Beattie was heading to school that day, driving his motorcycle down West 130th Street near the Parkway. A woman who was texting and driving hit Beattie from behind, dragging him underneath her car for 104 feet. He was pinned underneath the engine.


Beattie talked to the group about what had happened. “The car engine ended up resting on my ankle, which burns about 1300 degrees,” said Beattie. “It burned down to the bone.” Beattie went through seven surgeries in twenty one days and ultimately had to have one of his legs amputated. So far, he has had to undergo twelve surgeries. “The amputation was the best way to go,” said Beattie. “There was only 5% ankle function. It would have been a downward spiral.
“Someone made that choice for me,” he added. He’s not bitter, though. In fact, he said “I wouldn’t have changed anything about my accident, except remembering.” He said he is a different person than what he was before the accident. He’s more spirited, more giving and has a great sense of humor. “He’s very active and quite an inspiration,” said Lynch. Beattie now travels to schools and other events to spread the word about texting and driving and the “It Can Wait” program. He encourages people to stop texting and driving. A website, www.itcanwait.com has been set up to take the pledge to stop texting and driving.

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer