Teen’s Possibility of Long Prison Sentence Should Wake Up Those that Text and Drive

A Minnesotan teenager is facing up to ten years in prison for vehicular homicide in connection with a northern Minnesota head-on collision. The story should drive home the reminder to us all, that drivers should not be texting.

The topic has been written about a number of times here at the InjuryBoard:

Graphic Look At The Dangers Of Texting And Driving, Mike Bryant | March 16, 2010 9:25 AM

Texting – More Deadly than Drunk Driving?, Joe Crumley | September 22, 2009 7:01 AM

Iowa Personal Injury lawyer, Steve Lombardi added a interesting take on the issue. It’s worth checking out just for the picture of tongue texting. There is also the video which he has written about a number of times.

The reminder for us all in the present situation, is that a 77-year-old woman died and now the teenager is facing a life changing sentence. There are multiple families and friends that will be affected by the tragedy. Evidence suggests:

Kayla Carry sent or received 15 text messages in the minutes prior to a Sept. 15 head-on collision that resulted in the death of 77-year-old Lucille Vogt and left Carry critically injured…..

According to court records, Carry is accused crossing the center line and hitting head-on a vehicle driven Vogt. Vogt later died of her injuries at Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria. Carry was airlifted to St. Cloud Hospital.

Cellular phone records obtained during an investigation by the Minnesota State Patrol show that not only had Carry sent or received 15 text messages that morning, she sent an outgoing text message at 8:20 a.m. that morning. The first 911 call reporting the accident came into the Otter Tail County Dispatch Center at 8:24 a.m., court records state.

What is clear is that "in-text-ication" is not the way to drive. Hopefully, the example of this needless death, will remind us all of that.