It is described as a freak accident, because as far as automobile wrecks go, for a bus to hit a lamppost that falls on a baby in a stroller, well, it’s just not supposed to happen that way. But that’s how it went, and 8-month-old Angelie Paredes is gone.

But this July 30 ‘freak accident‘ in New Jersey, which took place when a bus jumped a curb because its driver was allegedly on his cell phone, could have been prevented. The driver, who is now charged with ‘death by auto,’ did not have to use his phone while operating a vehicle. The passengers did not have to accept his behavior as a matter-of-fact habit of these discount jitney bus drivers.

Dear baby Angelie did not need to die.

Consider the statistics:

According to the United States Department of Transportation, distracted driving (which is caused by any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving) claimed the lives of 3,331 lives in 2011. A whopping 387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.

Read more of my piece in the Huffington Post.