Calif woman gets 6 years for fatal texting crash
1 hour ago

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A woman who crashed into a line of stopped vehicles while text-messaging on her cell phone has been sentenced to six years in a California prison for killing a woman in one of the vehicles.

Deborah Matis-Engle was sentenced Friday by a judge in Redding, Calif.

Investigators said Deborah Matis-Engle was speeding and text messaging when she slammed into the vehicles stopped at a construction zone in August 2007.

Shasta County prosecutor Stephanie Bridgett said the 49-year-old woman had paid several bills by cell phone in the moments before the crash.

She was in the middle of one of those transactions when she struck a vehicle that burst into flames, killing 46-year-old Petra Winn.

Defense attorney Jeffrey Stotter said he will appeal

makes you wonder what was so important that she had to text while driving

exactly its just like the train wreck they had awhile back some kids were texting the guy that was driving the train.. and the texts is what caused the accedent where i cant recall on how many people were killed

i see it all the time. if it's important (an emergency) someone can call me and i will get back to them. i've pulled over before to call people back. the texting thing is getting out of hand

Only 6n years for taking a life.
Get more than that for leaving them alive and stealing their money.
Give her what she gave that innocent person.

It's gettin ridiculous with the cell phones. If I gotta text someone I'm pullin over otherwise they can wait until I get outta the truck. If someone calls me I've got my bluetooth in my ear, that way I've got both hands on the wheel and can pay attention to the road ahead. As cheap as bluetooths have gotten there's no reason everyone can't have one and use it. There's no reason a person can't pull over to the side of the road to text. Nuthin is that important that you need to put the life of someone else or yourself in danger cause you aren't paying attention to the road.

Fascist government always bans the action that may lead to something. Like banning texting while driving. Banning guns and not crimes, drugs and not crimes, etc.

Instead, they should ban failures to direct the vehicle, and leave the reason (intoxication, distraction, texting, talking, getting a blow job) for the driver's own consumption in the prison.

There have been many crashes due to cell phones here. Most texting. (and they admit it!)
I have a friend that was chasing her cell phone in her car after she dropped it while trying to answer it. She got into a lot of trouble for it. Her insurance really caused her problems.

I pull over when talking on my phone. Never text. It is too dangerous. I complain about it with others; so I am not going to do what Hate. I have almost been in wrecks with people who are using their phones while driving. I wish they would ban them everywhere while driving. There is enough going on out there without that cell adding to it.

Most complaints by other drivers has to do with cell phone users.

Kat

"Fascist government always bans the action that may lead to something. Like banning texting while driving. Banning guns and not crimes, drugs and not crimes, etc."

The existence of this law gives law enforcement and additional tool in charging someone who has caused an accident or injury because they were distracted, irresponsible etc. It also allows victims of this stupidity like the injured party in an accident and insurance companies to hold the ass in question financially responsible.

There is a mighty difference between an accident caused by a flat tire or one caused by texting. It is important that the law differentiate between them. If the only law that could be applied was one that punished a drivers, regardless of the circumstances, for accidents or injury caused in an accident you would be unevenly assigning blame right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7amxE3RLAzQ

guy in India on busy highway texting while riding motorcyle

yeah, no texting while driving please.