April 26--High Point police say the woman who died in a head-on collision Thursday was posting selfies and updating her Facebook status moments before the fatal crash.
Courtney Ann Sanford, 32, of Clemmons, updated her Facebook status with: "The happy song makes me HAPPY" one minute before the crash was called in to police, investigators say.
"These posts were brought to investigators' attention by family and friends," said Lt. Charles Lanier with the High Point Police Dept. "Investigators say that she also was taking pictures of herself while driving. The posts were very close proximity in time to our first calls on the crash."
Lanier said that the Facebook status update was posted at 8:33 a.m. Police and rescue workers were called to the crash at 8:34 a.m.
Sanford was heading north on Business 85 at Baker Road when her 2005 Toyota Corolla crossed the median into oncoming traffic. Her car slammed into a company-owned truck that was headed southbound. The crash shut down the highway for several hours. Police say it appeared that Sanford died upon impact.
North Carolina outlawed texting and driving in December 2009 and, although the law does not specifically mention Facebook and Twitter, the law says drivers may not "manually enter multiple letters or text in the (mobile telephone) as a means of communicating with another person."
Lanier said that Sanford's death serves as a reminder about distracted driving.
"You've got to pay attention on the road," he said. "There's so much going on, you can't afford to be looking down at a phone or a computer or taking pictures of yourself. That takes a great deal of attention off of what you're doing. Nothing is worse than losing your life or the life of someone else to tell people how you're doing."
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