Tweeting While Driving Cited in Celebrity Surgeon Death

New reports indicate that Dr. Frank Ryan, plastic surgeon to Heidi Montag and other celebrities, was tweeting just before his fatal car accident on Monday.

Ex-girlfriend Charmaine Blake told People Magazine that the plastic surgeon “lived up in Malibu on a tiny street and he was texting while driving and he accidentally went over the cliff.” People has also confirmed with the California Highway Patrol, although the official cause of the accident has still not been determined.

Dr. Ryan was purportedly tweeting about his border collie, Jill, when he lost control of his car. Ominously, this final tweet from Ryan includes a photo of his dog atop some sand dunes in Malibu.

The dog, who was with Ryan at the time of the crash, survived injuries.

Although often associated with teens, texting while driving is a serious issue for adult drivers as well. A recent report from Pew’s Internet and American Life Project found that 47% of adult drivers admitted to sending or reading text messages while driving.

Public service announcements and advocacy campaigns dedicated to highlighting the dangers of texting — or tweeting — while driving have been rolled out by governments, consumer groups and wireless companies, but the problem isn’t getting any better.

Beyond additional legislation coupled with heavy fines, it isn’t clear what more can be done to curb this very real problem. Perhaps incidents like this latest tragedy can act as a reminder for others to put down the phone while behind the wheel.

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