Faces of Distracted Driving: John T. Gordon, 35 "It felt like someone stabbed us in the heart"

When she was young, Lois Gordon lost her 17-year-old brother in a car crash that devastated her family. Later in life, after she became a mother, she lived in fear that one day there would be a knock on the door about her only son.

On May 18, 2008, that day happened.

 

Her son, John T. Gordon, nicknamed "Rusty" for the color of his hair when he was a boy, built his life in Marion, Ohio. He was a law enforcement officer who worked alongside his father as part of the only father-son bailiff pair in the state of Ohio.

This was a point of pride for him and his father, John P.T. Gordon, but his real joy came from being a husband and a father to his son and daughter.  According to his mother, Lois, John made sure to attend every sports event, recital, and dance class his kids participated in.

On May 18, 2008, John was riding his motorcycle on Ohio State Route 4 when a young man driving a truck swerved into oncoming traffic. John was struck and died instantly.

Records later showed that the driver was using his cell phone at the time of the crash.

“Before our son was killed, I never thought about people using their cell phones while driving.  But now, I see it everywhere,” said Lois. “We're missing the birthdays, the holidays, our son walking his daughter down the aisle. And for what? A telephone?”

As Lois says, "You may get away with it four or five times, ten times, or fifty times--and not get hurt or hurt someone else--but there's going to be a day when you don't."

If you have a distracted driving story to share, email faces@distraction.gov.

Comments

[Jesse Fonner]

My condolences to the Gordon family for their loss. I can't imagine the pain they endured of losing a loved family member.

These distracted driving series are wonderful and exemplify the deadly consequences of cell phone usage during the operation of a vehicle.

Would it also be possible for you to highlight the deaths of pedestrians and bicyclists who've been killed as well? Many of these pedestrian/bicyle fatalities occur in areas that do not have sidewalks or bike paths, forcing the carless to walk/bike in the road, mere inches away from whizzing cars.

I'm deaf and often walk/bike in the road. It's a miracle that I haven't been killed yet. Can you highlight this major gap in our transportation system with the lack of sidewalks and bike paths in many areas of the United States.

Thanks,
Jesse

[Raney's Truck]

Tragic. Texting while driving is the dumbest thing you can possibly do. I can't text and walk, let alone operate a motor vehicle.

[Vehicle Transport]

Very sad story. Driver should NOT use cell phone while driving... I think the ticket of cell phone using during driving should increase to $2000 so that people WILL NOT do it.

[how to convert mov to avi]

That's so sad... I hate people's being so careless. They are playing with human's lives and that's awful.