Text messaging may be to blame in fatal crash

Amanda Martin, 17, of Southbridge, was driving a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire to school when her car hit a tree on Flint Road.

Officials treated Martin at the scene before being taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

"Obviously it was a shock to all of us... We saw her Monday and Tuesday and then she was gone," said Alice Daly, Martin's instructor.

According to police, the 17-year-old was speeding and wasn't wearing her seat belt. They said something else may have contributed to the tragedy

"We did find her cell phone in the car, in the driver's compartment," said Officer Keith Cloutier of the Charlton Police Dept. "When I looked at the cell phone, the phone indicated she had gotten a text message at 7:22 a.m. and the police department received the 911 call at 7:25 a.m."

Yet police say that they will never know if text messaging was a factor in her death.

But it is a terrible reality check for her friends at Bay Path Vocational School where she excelled in all her classes. Martin was studying cosmetology. Now, her work space now filled with flowers and photos.

"What a wake up call it is to lose someone so close to you in such a way," said Tim Gllreine, her school's superintendent.

As tragic as the accident was, it could have been so much worse. Amanda's younger sister opted to ride the bus to school with her friends instead of driving to school with her sister.

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