A video of a head-on crash in Reading, Massachusetts, earlier this week is giving the public a firsthand look at the dangers of distracted driving.
Marcial Bones of Tewksbury recorded a video of the collision on his cell phone camera on Wednesday.
Bones said he put his cell phone next to his dashcam mount and started recording after a female driver allegedly cut him off while allegedly texting on her cell phone.
"I witnessed her swerving left and right through the road, kicking up dirt on the right side, and completely crossing on the left," he said.
According to Bones, it was just a couple minutes later that her car crossed the center line and crashed into this jeep carrying a couple and their 5-month-old baby.
Both vehicles were heavily damaged, but no one was seriously injured.
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"I'm very surprised that no one got seriously hurt," Bones said. "It was a pretty good collision."
North Reading Police said the woman will be issued a summons for violations of marked lanes and operating to endanger. She was also cited for sending or reading text messages while operating a motor vehicle. Her name was not released.
Wednesday's accident is just one example of why police departments across Massachusetts have begun a statewide crack down on distracted driving this month.
"If we see someone texting here in Massachusetts, obviously we can give them a citation for that, but there's other ways of being distracted, it may be something that rises to the level of negligent operation," Newton Police Lt. Bruce Apotheker said.
Whether it's texting, playing with GPS, or putting on makeup at a red light, Apotheker said his officers and others across the state will be on special details pulling drivers over for being distracted.
"When you're driving your vehicle, drive your car, that should be your main goal," he said. "Don't worry about a cell phone, don't worry about anything else other than driving."
