FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
CONTACT:
Arriale Tabson, 615-767-3242
Tennessee Highway Safety Office Empowers Tusculum Coach to Share Crash Survival Story during “Thumbs Down to Texting & Driving” Campaign
GREENEVILLE – Today, April 17, Tusculum’s Jessica Inscore joins the Tennessee Highway Safety Office’s (THSO) Thumbs Down to Texting & Driving campaign to promote National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Inscore was empowered by the THSO to share intimate details regarding a crash that left her permanently injured in 2017. View her public service announcement here: https://youtu.be/FRpK1Yg69WA
Inscore serves as Head Spirit Coordinator overseeing Tusculum College’s co-ed cheerleading squad, dance team, and mascot program. On March 18, 2017, Inscore was rear-ended by a distracted driver.
“While sitting at a red light, I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed the truck behind us was not slowing down, and the driver had his cellphone on top of his steering wheel,” said Inscore. “The driver hit us so hard the front end of his truck was lodged underneath the trunk of my Sequoia.”
The crash caused approximately $8,000 worth of damage to Inscore’s vehicle and $150,000 worth of medical treatment due to the severity of her injuries.
“The neurologist performed a double cervical spinal fusion to save my left arm,” said Inscore. “I was in a neck brace for six weeks. I could not dress or bathe myself. I still have anxiety about driving. I have panic attacks in traffic. I have excruciating neck pain, permanent nerve damage, hand spasms, and trouble sleeping every night. All of this happened because a distracted driver couldn’t put his phone down.”
Prior to her work at Tusculum, Inscore worked as a personal trainer, fitness coach, and hair stylist. Due to injuries caused by the crash, she can no longer use majority of the skills she acquired from those professions.
“It’s heartbreaking to hear a story like this,” said THSO Director Vic Donoho. “One driver’s poor judgement caused an innocent woman to suffer for the rest of her life. The THSO works to change driver behavior by empowering survivors like Jessica to share their experiences and help spread awareness.”
The THSO and THP encourage everyone to participate in the Thumbs Down to Texting & Driving campaign by posting photos of two thumbs down using #ThumbsDownTN via social media throughout the month of April.
For more information about Jessica Inscore, please visit https://tusculum.prestosports.com:443/sports/cheer.
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The Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) is a division of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security advocating for traffic safety. The THSO works in tandem with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to implement statewide programs addressing occupant protection, impaired driving, speed enforcement, pedestrian and bicycle safety, and crash data collection and analysis. Programs administered by the THSO are 100 percent federally funded. The THSO’s mission is to effectively develop, implement, and evaluate these programs. To learn more, please visit www.tntrafficsafety.org.