Police say a promising young Texas A&M University student was killed this week when she unexpectedly lost control of her vehicle on a local road and rolled it over.

According to police, Chandler Small, was driving alone on Highway 30 in Grimes County around 3a.m. Wednesday morning. She was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders.

Police say she was speeding and texting at the time, both of which contributed to her deadly crash.

Currently a move is afoot in the Texas state legislature to enact a statewide ban on texting while driving. It seems likely this latest crash will add further fuel to the fire of public outrage that the state does not already have such a ban.

Up to this point Texas state law makers have repeatedly said they oppose a statewide ban on texting and driving in favor of allow individual municipalities to sort out what measures are right for their community. Recently, however, a vocal minority of voters have gathered support from others in the state to force legislators to re-examine their roles as leaders and stewards of the state. This group claims that without a statewide ban all drivers on state roads are at risk. Given that Texas has now become the first state with a 85mph speed limit, they say, it is now more important than ever to address the issue of improved highway safety.

So far a few bills are being considered in the Texas legislature, all of which would impact the ability of drivers to use handheld devices in one way or another. It seems likely that at least one of those bills will eventually pass muster and make it to the governor’s desk where it likely will be signed into law.

How many more people in Texas will be killed as a result of texting and driving while lawmakers dicker over the details of the law is unknown. But each one carries with it the further likelihood that eventually that type of behavior will no longer be tolerated in Texas.

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