(Creston, Iowa) –  A distracted driver ended-up in an accident Tuesday morning, in Union County. The Sheriff’s Department reports a 2004 Chevy Impala driven 18-year-old Caleb Matthew Pearson, of Corning, and a 2015 Ford F-350 pickup pulling a trailer, were both traveling east on Highway 34 at around 8:25-a.m. The pickup was driven by 48-year-old Grant Lee Plowman, of Creston.

When the pickup/trailer signaled to turn and stopped for oncoming traffic, the trailer was struck from behind by the Chevy. Neither driver was injured. Damages amounted to $10,500. Pearson told deputies he was on his cell phone and had it sitting on his lap. When he looked down at the phone, and then looked up, he suddenly noticed the stopped pickup and trailer in front of him, but it was too late to avoid the collision.

The airbags on the Impala deployed during the impact. Authorities cited Pearson for Failure to Stop in an assured clear distance, and use of electronic communication device.