A Distracted Driving Crash Leaves One Person Dead Near Anson

At 9:53 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2015, a distracted driver of a 2011 Ford F-150 caused a crashed at the intersection of US 277 and Country Road 195, about .8 miles northeast of Anson, which left one passenger dead, said the Department of Public Transportation.

Although this crash happened late last week, DPS asked for this update because the crash was a result of distracted driving.

According to a DPS report, Mark Thomas Palafox, 49, was traveling northeast on US 277 in his 2015 Jeep Cherokee while David Seth Moore, 21, traveled north on CR 195 in the Ford pickup. Moore dropped his cell phone, and as he reached down for it, he drove through a stop sign. As a result, Palafox crashed into Moore on the left side of his vehicle.

After the collision, Palafox’s Cherokee came to rest upright in the northbound lane facing northeast. Moore’s Ford pickup came to rest upright on the east improved shoulder facing northeast, DPS said. Both drivers were treated with minor injuries and released at Anson General hospital; however, a passenger in the Cherokee, Patricia Lynn Palafox, was pronounced dead on Sept. 12 at Hendrick Medical Center.

The crash is under investigation, DPS said, but officials wanted to remind people of the following message: “Distracted driving is the #1 cause of crashes in the U.S. Phones, passengers, reaching, grooming, eating, are just a few of the many distractions that go on in moving vehicles. We, as drivers, never think it will happen to us until it does. Then it’s too late. We are not true multitaskers. You can only put 100% into one thing at a time. When you’re behind the wheel driving, make driving that one and only task.”