200-Plus 'Distracted' Ticket Effort In Vernon Ends With Cell Use Crash

VERNON, CT — More than 200 tickets for distracted driving were issued in Vernon last month, police said.

The VPD teamed up with the state Department of Transportation for extra patrols. April was deemed "Distracted Driving Awareness Month."

No formal checkpoints were set up, but roving patrols were omnipresent throughout the month.

"Our Department teamed up with CT DOT during the month of April to combat Distracted Driving. This past month numerous proactive patrols were out and about during this effort," police said.

The results was a total of 237 traffic stops being conducted and citations being issued, police said.

The tip of the ice burg was on April 27, when drunken and distracted driving was cited as the cause of a single-vehicle crash in Vernon. According to a Vernon Police Department crash report, at 6:52 p.m. that day, police and fire units responded to a rollover crash on Lake Street in the area of Grady Road.

Emergency crew encountered an Acura sedan sitting on its roof in the road when they arrived, according to a crash report. The driver, a 46-year-old Vernon resident, was able to climb out of the vehicle and did not appear to be injured, according to a crash report.

He did, however, appear to be intoxicated and was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence, failure to drive in a proper lane and operating a motor vehicle while using a cell phone, according to police.

"Please remember that thousands of deaths occur each year and even more are injured nationally because of distracted drivers," police said.

They added, "Please put the phones down and help us keep the roadways safe."