Crashes where a distracted driver was a contributing factor are down in Pennsylvania in the past decade, as crashes overall have declined, according to state data.

In some years, it was the second-leading cause of accidents. In 2022, it was the third-leading cause. That was behind speed and improper turning, but ahead of drinking alcohol, careless passing and tailgating.

Twenty-eight states already ban cell phone use while driving, according information from the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Meanwhile, at least 23 states have laws on collecting data on traffic stops, the group said.

Rep. Napoleon Nelson, D-Montgomery, the chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, said caucus members were concerned that police could abuse a broad new power to pull over motorists and target racial minorities.

Collecting traffic stop data is important for accountability, Nelson said.

“I think this will be a significant win for transparency and help to continue building trust between community members and those who are sworn to serve and protect,” Nelson said in an interview.

Rep. Donna Bullock, D-Philadelphia, who worked for several years to get the provision into law, called it a “big step for Pennsylvania.” The Pennsylvania State Police recently began voluntarily collecting and reporting traffic stop data and some municipal police departments do as well, Bullock said.

But the methods of individual departments aren’t uniform, like they will be under the new law, Bullock said.

Data released last year by the state police and analyzed by the National Policing Institute showed no disparities between racial and ethnic groups for warnings, citations or arrests. But troopers were more than twice more likely to search Black and Hispanic drivers than white drivers, the report showed.

Under the forthcoming law, data that police must report includes the reason for the stop, details from a search of the vehicle and the race, ethnicity, age and gender of the driver who was stopped. Police forces that serve municipalities under 5,000 people are exempt from the requirement.

The data collection requirement takes effect in a year and a half. After the cell phone ban takes effect, drivers get a grace period of another year in which they only receive a written warning for violating it.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) — Jennifer Cornley, a special education teacher in Montgomery County, says she always wanted to be a mother.

In January 2021, she began researching adoption and decided she wanted an international adoption.

In October, there was a match.

“I got to review her file and see her photos, and it was an instant ‘yes’ in my heart,” Cornley told CBS News Philadelphia.

Cornley and her mother flew to Vietnam to meet Cara, who had spent her first three years in an orphanage with hundreds of other children.

Cornley describes the moment she first saw Cara.

“She came over and stood with me and then we went and sat on a little bench and played,” she said. “It was awesome.”

Getting to this point wasn’t easy, Cornley said. There were binders full of paperwork, home visits and interviews.

Then she saw a story on CBS News Philadelphia about Marjorie Margolies, who, at age 25 in 1970, was a CBS News correspondent covering a story on “hard-to-place children.”

The story ultimately led Margolies to adopt a little girl from Korea.

“Just hearing that, you know, she did it, she did it as a single person and that her children are home and thriving was just another reminder that this is the journey that you’re on,” Cornley said. “This is the journey that you want and you have always wanted.”

Just days ahead of Cornley’s first Mother’s Day, she had the opportunity to meet Margolies, who offered some motherly advice.

“Listen,” says Margolies, “there will be incredible challenges, but [being a mother], it’s such a wonderful experience, the highs and the lows, just go with it.”

Cara is now focused on learning English. Cornley has some positive words of advice for anyone hoping to become a mother.

“It’s so worth it,” she said. “Every second of her is absolutely worth every second of crying that happened before she came home, you know, every second of waiting and worrying. She is the best.”

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is set to sign a bill that makes it illegal to misuse the animal tranquilizer xylazine.

Officials say the drug is being mixed into fentanyl and other illicit opioids, contributing to a growing number of overdose deaths.

Xylazine is a sedative used by veterinarians and would still be available for its intended use under the new bill.

Pennsylvania taking steps to control access to xylazine, a drug also known as tranq

Under the bill, xylazine would be listed as a Schedule III drug, which is a controlled substance subject to various rules.

Both the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Senate approved the bill in the past week.

Emerging drug ‘Tranq’ leading to amputations among users