NC Woman Killed After Texting about Pharrell Song “Happy” While Driving

On April 24, 2014, Courtney Ann Sanford of Clemmons, NC was out driving and listening to music. She decided to pick up phone and make her feelings about a hit song by Pharrell known to all her Facebook friends via text message. The New York Daily News reports that her post read, “The happy song makes me HAPPY.”

Seconds later, she was dead. She was 32.

According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Sanford’s car jumped the median and struck a truck owned by TT&E Iron and Metal of Garner, NC and driven by John Thompson, 73. The crash forced Sanford’s car off the road and into a tree. Her car then burst into flames, and she died at the scene. Thompson was uninjured.

Lt. Barry Roberts of the High Point Police Department said that Sanford’s car was traveling at 45 miles per hour when she hit Thompson’s truck. She was wearing a seatbelt, albeit improperly.

Courtney Sanford was a Certified Medical Assistant at Bethany Medical Center in High Point, NC, employed by Maxim Health Care Services. According to her , she was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi Sorority. A “celebration of life” was held in her honor on April 29, 2014 at Clemmons Presbyterian Church.

Don’t text and drive.

If you or a loved one has suffered injury (or worse) in an accident due to someone texting while driving, Greening Law, P.C.stands ready to help you with your legal needs. Contact our offices today at 972-934-8900 or online.