Students in Pasco, Washington have recently launched a campaign against texting and driving.
The students at Chiawana High School listened to Reggie Shaw from Utah. Mr. Shaw a 19-year-old college student was working as a house painter. He was driving to work in an SUV. Approaching him, in a Saturn sedan, was James Furaro, 38, and his passenger, Keith P. O’Dell, 50. They were rocket scientists commuting to their work at ATK Launch Systems.
Mr. Shaw crossed the center line on the two-way road, and clipped the Saturn. The Saturn lost control and spun across the road where it was hit by another vehicle that was towing a trailer. The two scientists were killed instantly.
The police talked to a witness who observed Shaw swerving within his lane just prior to the collision. The investigating officer watched Shaw after the accident take out his phone and start texting. The officer was skeptical, and decided to subpoena Shaw’s cell phone records. The records showed that Shaw had sent 11 text messages to his girlfriend in the 30 minutes before the crash. The last one occurred just one minute before Shaw called 911. The police determined that the last text message was the one which caused Shaw to cross into the other lane.
In the end Shaw’s conscious got the better of him. He later pled guilty to two counts of negligent homicide. Shaw now tours his home state of Utah and other states to talk about the dangers of texting while driving.
I applaud Mr. Shaw’s willingness to devote his time and attention to teaching other young people about what can happen while using your cell phone and driving. It’s a shame that he had to take the lives of two innocent people to realize what I and many other lawyers have known for years: texting while driving a motor vehicle is extremely dangerous.
I hope the students in Paco, Washington were moved by Mr. Shaw’s story. I have to believe that hearing from someone who has actually caused the death of two other people due to texting and driving will cause most of these young people to re-think whether to use a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle.
For more information about Shaw’s story and the dangers of texting while driving, please read this story by NPR.
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