It’s important to stay off your phone while driving. In most states, it’s illegal to use handheld devices because texting and using apps like Snapchat is extremely dangerous. For example, a distracted driver recently hit a bus with her SUV and injured 22 passengers. 

A distracted driver hit a bus with her SUV while using Snapchat 

A 19-year-old girl is facing serious charges after hitting a bus with her Toyota RAV4 SUV. Police officers shared that the distracted driver, Svea Snickers, was allegedly using Snapchat during the collision. 

Snickers ran through a stop sign at Townline Road and County Road 5, then hit a school bus. The bus, which was heading to Cherry School, in Iron, Minnesota then rolled down into a ditch. 

Minnesota State Patrol discovered that Snickers was driving at 53 mph before the impact and did not brake before the collision. 

The bus driver knew the situation was about to be bad because he had no time to respond in any way to avoid being struck. The youngest passenger on the bus was only five years old. 

According to CBS News, 22 students and the bus driver were injured. Snickers, the bus driver, and 12 students needed to be hospitalized due to injuries such as lacerations, abrasions, concussions, contusions, and fractures. The other students only suffered minor injuries. 

During the crash investigation, police officers searched Snickers’s phone. They discovered that she was using Snapchat just seconds before a 911 call was initiated about two minutes before authorities responded to the crash. She admitted that she was filming a video at the time. 

Snickers has been charged with five felony counts of criminal vehicular operation, 17 gross misdemeanor counts, and two misdemeanor traffic offenses. Her life would look a lot different right now if she waited until she got home to use the app.