Driving instructor offers tips after Bedford teen dies in car accident

Quincy Plattus, 16, died in a car accident when driver swerved to avoid deer

BEDFORD, Va. – Sixteen-year-old Quincy Plattus' life was cut short at the Goode and Goode Station roads intersection in Bedford County Monday evening.

State police say a 17-year-old driver swerved to miss a deer, lost control of the Jeep and overturned. 
Plattus was thrown out of the passenger seat and died at the scene. 

Her Facebook page says she's a Liberty High School student. On Tuesday, her church, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bedford opened their doors to friends and family who may need prayer or want to talk. 

WSLS spoke with driving instructor Mickey Owens with "Drive This Way Incorporated." He said he trains more than 500 kids a year in driving school.

“I tell them all the time is look where you're going, not where you are,” Owens said.

One of the many lessons he teaches is what to do when an animal leaps in front of your car.

"The last thing you want to do is try to swerve and go around one. You just can't do that,” Owens said.

Instead, Owens said, honk the horn-- it should scare the animal off. If not, he says, "Keep on going, right before you getting ready to hit it let your foot off the gas, that way the car would raise back up and it's less likely it (deer) will come through the windshield."

Owens said distracted driving is one of the main causes for car crashes. One thing he emphasizes to his students,”If you take your eyes off the road for one second, you can kill somebody,’” Owens said.