A tragic story about a woman whose final Facebook activity occurred moments before a deadly car crash continues to circulate online, serving as a powerful warning about the dangers of using a phone while driving.
The story refers to Courtney Ann Sanford, a 32-year-old woman from North Carolina. On April 24, 2014, Sanford was driving along Business Interstate 85 when she posted on Facebook about Pharrell Williams’ hit song “Happy.”
Her Facebook update was published at approximately 8:33 a.m. Emergency services were notified about the crash only one minute later, according to police reports.
Investigators said Sanford’s vehicle crossed the highway median and collided head-on with a truck carrying a recycling container. Her car then left the road, struck a tree and caught fire. Sanford died at the scene, while the truck driver was not seriously injured.
Police later examined her phone and found that her final Facebook post expressed how happy the song made her feel. Authorities believed she had been using her phone immediately before the collision.
Although some social-media posts incorrectly describe the victim as a 34-year-old woman, credible reports identified Sanford as 32 years old. The tragedy also happened in 2014, not recently.
The photograph currently circulating with the story may be illustrative and should not automatically be assumed to show Sanford’s actual crash.
Her death remains a heartbreaking reminder that even a few seconds of distraction behind the wheel can have irreversible consequences. Drivers should always pull over safely before texting, posting online or using social media.
