Snapchat Allegedly Factor in Fatal Car Crash, Say South Jersey and Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorneys

Pennsauken, NJ (Law Firm Newswire) March 8, 2016 – An investigation has been conducted into whether a popular smartphone app called Snapchat may have been a factor in causing a fatal car crash that claimed the lives of three young women in Philadelphia.

According to the victims’ families, the app was being used on the night in December when the three women were killed. Snapchat is an app that permits its users to send videos, texts or pictures that vanish within a matter of seconds.

During the morning hours of Sunday, December 20, 2015, a black Camaro that was transporting three young women from Philadelphia sped down Torresdale Avenue. Their vehicle crashed into a parked tractor trailer containing herbicide, and exploded. The deadly car crash is causing people to be concerned about the app that might embolden young people to drive at an excessive speed.

“Distracted driving poses a danger to anyone on the road, and needs to be taken more seriously so that tragic accidents such as this one are less likely to occur,” said prominent South Jersey and Philadelphia personal injury attorneys Petrillo & Goldberg.

Philadelphia Police Captain Anthony Ginaldi stated that a witness said he heard screams from inside the car, but he was unable to approach the vehicle because of the flames. The occupants of the car were the Amonie Barton, Gia Scavo Abgarian and Candice Walker. They were in their early 20s, and were probably burned alive.

Gia Abgarian’s uncle, Jimmy Abgarian, said that Gia Abgarian frequently used Snapchat. Many sources, including Jimmy Abgarian, revealed that Abgarian posted many Snapchats indicating their location. The last snap showed them in a car, and the speed at which they were traveling, which was 73 miles per hour. Within the Snapchat app is a feature that permits users to post videos and pictures disclosing their speed.

The investigative reporters at Action News discovered others on YouTube who were using the app to boast that they were driving at high speeds. However, because the “snaps” vanish, Abgarian’s family cannot prove that she sent those posts. When Action News tried to contact Snapchat, the company refused to issue a comment, but did say that they consider distracted driving to be a serious matter. They also said that when a person first uses the miles per hour feature, there is a pop-up message admonishing people not to snap and drive.

Learn more at http://www.petrilloandgoldberg.com/ Petrillo & Goldberg Law 6951 North Park Drive Pennsauken, NJ 08109 1333 Race Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 70 South Broad Street Woodbury, NJ 08096 Phone: 856-486-4343 Fax: 856:486-7979