A man was airlifted to the hospital after running into a tractor trailer in Llano while he was livestreaming on YouTube on Tuesday, and officials believe his distracted driving could have caused the crash.
The incident occurred at the intersection of 165th Street East at Avenue T around 3 p.m., as 32-year-old David Slavitt was vlogging, or video blogging, on his YouTube account, LameDuckG, where he has more than 1,500 subscribers.
The Claremont resident was driving his 2012 Honda Fit west on Avenue T, approaching 165th Street East, as truck driver Elias Orozco, a 58-year-old from Bakersfield, was heading north on 165th Street East, the California Highway Patrol said.
Slavitt apparently failed to yield at a stop sign and crossed directly into Orozco’s path. In the livestream, Slavitt abruptly halts his running narrative of his plans for the afternoon and emits a scream of terror.
Orozco attempted to swerve left in attempt to avoid colliding with the vlogger, but his truck hit Slavitt’s driver’s side door, investigators said.
The 32-year-old was airlifted to Apple Valley Hospital with blunt force trauma, according to CHP. Officials described his injuries as moderate to major.
Orozco was unhurt.
CHP Sgt. Steve Geraty described the incident as “a case in point for the dangers of distracted driving.”
“This individual luckily did not lose his life in the collision,” he said of Slavitt. “This could have been a family of five going to school or worse and the fact of the matter is that he’s the only injury in this collision is lucky.”