According to a New York Times article, a Stamford, Conn. woman was attacked by a 200 lb chimpanzee called Travis. The beloved animal was shot down by the Stamford Police after the attack.

Travis lived with his owner, Sandra Herold, and was well known around town starring in several commercials.

Earlier in the day, Travis was being uncooperative and refused to go back inside the home. Herold gave the chimp tea laced with Xanax to calm him down. She claimed she did this only due to his extreme agitation and this was not a common occurrence.

Herold then called her friend Charla Nash over for help.

When Nash arrived at the Herold household, she received a less than warm welcome. As she stepped out of her vehicle, Travis ran at her full force and began to pounce on her. Nash suffered severe injuries to her hands and face.

Herold ran inside the house to call 911 and grabbed a butcher knife. She then ran back outside to the aid of her friend and stabbed her chimpanzee repeatedly to stop the attack.

After Travis attacked Nash, he roamed around Herold’s property; then focused his attention on the responding police officers. The policemen retreated to their vehicles.

When Travis attempted to open the doors, an unnamed police officer shot the chimp to protect himself as the animal had him cornered.

Herold had raised Travis since he was a baby chimp and she claimed he was a well trained chimpanzee. He was toilet trained, ate at the table, dressed himself, logged onto the computer and watched television.

But this was not the first time authorities chased Travis around. Back in 2003, the chimpanzee ran loose around the downtown area. It took police over two hours to get the animal subdued.

According to the New York Times, authorities claimed the chimpanzee may have had Lyme disease which is a tick born bacterial infection. In rare cases the disease can cause psychosis, severe anxiety, and delusional behavior.

Nash was taken to the hospital for her injuries and was in critical condition. According to an MSNBC article, Nash was permanently blinded from the attack and is still being treated at a clinic in Ohio for her injuries.

Nash’s family recently filed an injury lawsuit against Herold for $50 million. They claimed they might pursue lawsuits against the state of Connecticut and the city of Stamford for allowing the Herolds to keep the chimpanzee in the home.

The family also claimed both city and state ignored the warning signs of the potential dangers of keeping a chimpanzee in a domesticated area.

Herold and two other officers suffered minor injuries from the chimpanzee the day of the attack.

Texting – a seemingly harmless activity – appears to be far more dangerous than the general public thinks, especially when driving.

Sending text messages while behind the wheel can cause serious injuries and may even be deadly.

In Oxford, England, Phillipa Curtis was sentenced to 21 months in prison for texting while driving. The 22-year-old was texting her friends when she hit the car in front of her and killed Victoria McBryde.

Curtis rammed her vehicle into McBryde’s rear end, killing the 24-year-old instantly. McBryde’s mother and her personal injury attorney were upset that Curtis only received 21 month in prison. They feel Curtis deserves a longer sentence for her actions.

There appear to be mixed reactions about the incident, as many people claim they also text while they drive, and this type of incident could happen to anyone. According to phone records, McBryde allegedly was also texting and talking on her hand held phone prior to the incident.

According to a New York Times article, Britain has cracked down on texting and driving because of the serious injuries that have occurred. It is illegal in England to text or talk on hand held while driving a vehicle. Most European countries and a few states in the U.S. have banned the use of hand held phones while driving as well.

The new guidelines in British law state, “reading or composing text messages over a period of time” can be a distraction. The British courts have ruled that if the driver composes messages while driving the vehicle at any time, it could still be a distraction for the driver.

Even if the driver is not texting at the exact moment of impact; the driver could still be prosecuted if they composed a message during the duration of driving the vehicle.

Officials compare driving and texting to driving while drunk. Although a person may not be physically drinking an alcoholic beverage while they are driving, they are still affected by the alcohol previously consumed. The same idea holds true with texting, the New York Times reported.

British authorities claim any person using a hand held phone while driving who is involved in an incident involving death will receive severe punishment and jail time.

Many are finding this lax ideal of texting and driving a serious problem. In the future, other countries might follow suit and create severe punishments for drivers using their hand held phones while driving their vehicles.

England has made it a priority to stop future injuries or deaths as a result of texting and driving.