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Rear-End Collision Occurs Minutes After Snap

A driver admits she was sending a Snap on her cellphone about five minutes before a rear-end collision, but maintains she was not using her phone when the accident occurred Tuesday afternoon. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene on Highway 30 near Quail Avenue at approximately 5:10 p.m. They found that 19-year-old Taylor Marie Ratliff of Glidden had been driving eastbound on Highway 30 in a 2002 Chevrolet Impala. Also eastbound was a 1998 Buick Park Avenue, driven by 47-year-old Michael Lee Hunt of Glidden. Hunt was stopped behind a semi-tractor trailer that was waiting for oncoming traffic to pass to make a left-hand turn. Hunt was watching the Ratliff vehicle in his rear-view mirror and saw that it was not stopping, in fact it was coming at a high rate of speed. He tried to turn his vehicle to the right and get onto the shoulder, but it was too late and he was rear-ended by Ratliff. The impact pushed the Park Avenue into the south ditch and the Impala came to rest on the roadway. A witness reports seeing no brake lights from the Impala and an officer with Motor Vehicle Enforcement witnessed the Hunt vehicle enter the ditch. When this officer made contact with Ratliff, there was an unopened message on her phone, waiting to be viewed. She told the officer that when she applied her brakes, the pedal went to the floor but nothing happened, until they finally caught the last second before impact. There was an estimated $3,000 in damage to each vehicle, and Ratliff was charged with failure to maintain control. She was transported for treatment of possible minor injuries by a private party. Hunt was uninjured in the accident.

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