Mars Upton
2012-08-02 08:38:30 UTC
The punk.
http://o.aolcdn.com/os/autos/photos/aaron-deveau-texting-
06072012.jpg
A Massachusetts teenager on Wednesday became the first person in
that state to be convicted of causing a fatal traffic accident
while texting, and a judge sentenced him to one year in jail.
Aaron Deveau of Haverhill, Mass. was sentenced to 2 1/2 years
behind bars with a year to serve and the remainder suspended for
the February 2011 crash that took the life of Donald Bowley Jr.,
55, of Danville, N.H., and seriously injured Bowley's girlfriend.
Prosecutors say the then 17-year-old high school student sent
193 text messages the day of the crash, including some just a
minute or so before impact and dozens more after it.
Deveau testified Tuesday, saying he was not sending or receiving
text messages in the moments before the collision. He said he
put his phone on the passenger seat and was distracted and
thinking about his homework when the crash occurred. He told
police after the crash that he swerved to avoid another vehicle
in front of him that suddenly hit its brakes.
Prosecutors knew that the teen had been texting even though the
accused had tried to delete some texts from his phone after the
accident. An analysis of Deveau's phone records, obtained during
the investigation, revealed his texting pattern and the court
did not believe texting did not contribute to the fatal accident.
As a majority of states have adopted anti-texting laws, police
and prosecutors have had little problem obtaining court orders
for phone records that show a defendant's texting behavior
during the time of a vehicular accident.
But police do say that enforcing anti-texting laws in the
absence of an accident is very difficult.
"In theory it's [the anti-texting while driving law] a great
law. It's just tough to enforce," Lt. Kevin Walsh of Wareham,
Mass. told SouthCoastToday.com.
"It's tough when you're driving around to actually see them
texting," Dartmouth, Mass. Detective Robert Levinson also told
the website.
In order for police in any state to hand out a ticket or pull a
driver over, an officer has to actually see a driver doing it.
The Department of Transportation is considering new regulations
that would severely restrict the ability to use cell-phones and
smart-phones in cars while they are moving, including mandating
equipment that would jam phone calls and texts from coming and
going if a car is moving faster than 10 miles per hour.
Meantime, auto companies are introducing gadgetry to their
newest vehicles that allow a driver to have texts and even
Facebook updates read aloud while a driver is operating a
vehicle, and for the driver to be able to respond hands-free
through audio-to-text software. Regulators, however, are not
keen on that level of distractions in the car even if it is
hands-free.
http://autos.aol.com/article/teen-sentenced-for-killing-by-
text/?ncid=txtlnkusauto00000020
http://o.aolcdn.com/os/autos/photos/aaron-deveau-texting-
06072012.jpg
A Massachusetts teenager on Wednesday became the first person in
that state to be convicted of causing a fatal traffic accident
while texting, and a judge sentenced him to one year in jail.
Aaron Deveau of Haverhill, Mass. was sentenced to 2 1/2 years
behind bars with a year to serve and the remainder suspended for
the February 2011 crash that took the life of Donald Bowley Jr.,
55, of Danville, N.H., and seriously injured Bowley's girlfriend.
Prosecutors say the then 17-year-old high school student sent
193 text messages the day of the crash, including some just a
minute or so before impact and dozens more after it.
Deveau testified Tuesday, saying he was not sending or receiving
text messages in the moments before the collision. He said he
put his phone on the passenger seat and was distracted and
thinking about his homework when the crash occurred. He told
police after the crash that he swerved to avoid another vehicle
in front of him that suddenly hit its brakes.
Prosecutors knew that the teen had been texting even though the
accused had tried to delete some texts from his phone after the
accident. An analysis of Deveau's phone records, obtained during
the investigation, revealed his texting pattern and the court
did not believe texting did not contribute to the fatal accident.
As a majority of states have adopted anti-texting laws, police
and prosecutors have had little problem obtaining court orders
for phone records that show a defendant's texting behavior
during the time of a vehicular accident.
But police do say that enforcing anti-texting laws in the
absence of an accident is very difficult.
"In theory it's [the anti-texting while driving law] a great
law. It's just tough to enforce," Lt. Kevin Walsh of Wareham,
Mass. told SouthCoastToday.com.
"It's tough when you're driving around to actually see them
texting," Dartmouth, Mass. Detective Robert Levinson also told
the website.
In order for police in any state to hand out a ticket or pull a
driver over, an officer has to actually see a driver doing it.
The Department of Transportation is considering new regulations
that would severely restrict the ability to use cell-phones and
smart-phones in cars while they are moving, including mandating
equipment that would jam phone calls and texts from coming and
going if a car is moving faster than 10 miles per hour.
Meantime, auto companies are introducing gadgetry to their
newest vehicles that allow a driver to have texts and even
Facebook updates read aloud while a driver is operating a
vehicle, and for the driver to be able to respond hands-free
through audio-to-text software. Regulators, however, are not
keen on that level of distractions in the car even if it is
hands-free.
http://autos.aol.com/article/teen-sentenced-for-killing-by-
text/?ncid=txtlnkusauto00000020