Boy killed by texting driver
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Dec 28th 2007 12:28PM
posted Dec 28th 2007 12:28PM
According to a report from the Boston Globe, a man claims that he was typing a text message into his cellphone when he lost control of his SUV and fatally struck a 13-year-old boy on a bicycle. In a stark and sad reminder of the cause for recent laws put into effect governing texting / phoning while driving, it appears the man was so distracted that he didn't even realize what had happened until later that night. Ironically, the friend of the boy who had been walking with him attempted to call 911 on his phone, but was unable to get through. The driver is being charged with motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and driving without a license. A tragic story -- and unfortunately not the first we've seen -- but hopefully a cautionary tale for anyone who regularly juggles driving and texting. Don't.
Man, that is just sad... Come on people, seriously.
Texting while driving? Now that's asking for trouble.
Maybe he was texting to his wife he was quite drunk and would be home a little late so don't bother to wait up for him.
Yeah, because driving drunk is so much better, eh?
Talking on the phone is bad enough, texting is just stupid. Would you read a book while driving?
You know, you would think that common sense would prevent this, but you have no idea how many people I see every morning and evenin on my commute that are reading newspapers or books, its scary but very common
I've witnessed drivers reading books, newspapers, directions...as though their steering wheel was a pulpit!
Tragic story, but still annoying to see it used as an excuse for more Draconian driving laws.
"leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and driving without a license"
Seems to me the driver had bigger issues than driving while texting. Although I avoid it, I sometimes talk on the phone while driving, and occasionally read or send a quick text message. I also drive faster than the speed limit on a regular basis.
Guess what? I haven't had a single ticket or accident in over 10 years. The issue is not the specific activity but the person's overall driving skills and common sense. You should punish people when their behavior results in harm to someone else, not just because they're behavior could possibly result in harm.
I guess if he had been listening to an iPod the reaction would have been similar. What if the driver had said he ran into the kid because he was listening to loud music on his car's stereo. Would this be justification to ban stereo equipment in cars? How far do we take this? Writing with a pen on a piece of paper? Fumbling with the A/C controls? Picking one's nose?
Some folks are always looking for simple answers and quick fixes to everything - no matter how disruptive and ineffective the solution may be. Fertile ground for politicians.
Steering wheel pulpit you say?
I say WheelDesk!
http://www.mobilegear.com/product_p/mgwd-01.htm
Joe -> that makes no sense at all. loud music, unless so excruciatingly loud that it causes your eyes to shut, does not distract your vision. so how does that relate to focusing on a screen while allowing the road and everything on it to become 'background noise'?
Joe Blow, you're an idiot!! By your logic maybe drunk driving could be legal too and then we can only punish the ones that kill people. I agree that you can't take it too far, like picking your nose etc., but texting should obviously be illegal.
Yeah, driving near a local college I once saw a girl reading from a book on her steering wheel. Probably studying.
I couldn't believe it.
@Joe Blow
Although you do make a good argument are you suggesting that drinking and driving is ok as long as you don't preform some sort of illegal maneuver while under the influence? There are some activities which are dangerous to do while your attention should be on the road. Granted this particular individual obvious y had larger issues at hand if he was charged with driving without a license, and although you seem to be able to multi-task quite fine that does not mean that the average "Joe Blow" on the street is capable of such feats. i know i for one am not so i exercise my right to common sense and abstain, others like me might not.
just this morning on my way to work i saw some minivan driving along, straddling two lanes. when we got up to the stoplight, i look over at this idiot and see that they have a stack of papers spread out across their dash and steering wheel. at that very same intersection a week prior, 3 people were killed in a car crash by a person going through the red light who was messing with their phone.
the roads are no longer safe to drive on.
Can you carry on a conversation with the person in the passenger seat while driving with one hand? How is that different from talking on the phone? Can you drive safely while switching the channels on the radio/CD player? How is that different from glancing at the phone and pushing buttons on it?
The problem isn't the source of distraction - there is ALWAYS going to be SOMETHING to distract you while driving. The problem is the person that is in charge of the wheel not being able to operate the vehicle safely.
You disgust me
Really, how are people so stupid? Talking is bad enough for some people, but TEXTING? Come on, after he gets out of prison (where hopefully they'll send him to) they should send him to a stupid asylum (Hopefully they would have invented those by then.)
FTW!
If a small rodent is 1
And a dog is 3...
Isn't somebody always doing something when their car loses control and hits someone? Whether its putting in a CD, scratching your balls, looking at a pretty broad driving next to you or yes, using the phone in some way, its all dangerous. Laws don't stop stupid people from doing stupid stuff.
Do you really have to look away from the road to scratch your balls?
Seriously, maby auto makers should include a faraday cage in the vehicle frame that way the only cell phone usage would have to be via a hands-free system tied to an external antenna.
almost 2008 and there isn't 1 car with a ball scratching feature yet?
almost 2008 and there isn't 1 car with a ball scratching feature yet?
And this is why all people need to be sterilized and only those that prove themselves to not be stupid should be allowed to breed. It is absolutly necessary to stop the breeding of dumb people.
You're right, laws won't prevent stupid people from doing stupid things. But having laws like this on the books will ensure that stupid people receive additional punishment for doing stupid things. That's why it's a good thing.
If you get stopped for texting while driving and given a ticket perhaps that experience will teach you not to do it again, and tragedies like this won't happen in the future.
@TheFuzz
So, you approve of a totalitarian government, where every aspect of your life is controlled by the system "for your own good?"
While the article is unfortunate, the solution isn't more regulation, but education and positive feedback. Insurance companies should continue to offer discounts for drivers who buy vehicles equipped with hands-free devices. More vehicles need to be required to have or support these types of systems, and people need to be taught how to use these systems properly.
The idea of forced sterilization and regulated population are very scary and Orwellian thoughts. If you can't handle daily responsibility for your actions, that's your problem.
"You're right, laws won't prevent stupid people from doing stupid things. But having laws like this on the books will ensure that stupid people receive additional punishment for doing stupid things. That's why it's a good thing.
If you get stopped for texting while driving and given a ticket perhaps that experience will teach you not to do it again, and tragedies like this won't happen in the future."
Great Logic. Let's see - Vehicular Homicide - 7 years, leaving the scene, 1 year, and tack on a misdemeanor $250 fine for texting while driving-that’ll sure show ‘em.
How about the 3 pieces of white trash who drug that black man to his death in Texas a few years back? People screamed they be charged with ‘hate crimes.’ They were convicted, with 2 getting the death penalty, and one life. And in Texas, the DP means something…but hey let’s tack on ‘mind crimes’ for an additional year or two of prison time. Makes some of us feel better…
DUI, Texting While Driving (TWI?), Mind Crimes, WrongThink…amazes me how so many people go like sheep to the abattoir, agreeing with the criminalization of things that result in NO DAMAGE or injury to another…Drunk and hit someone? Sure, go to jail. But an arbitrary limit on blood alcohol is nothing but a way for the state to levy a free tax in the form of tickets…like those DUI checkpoints, comrade? Papers, please!
Not long ago, State Police in Delaware were using night vision goggles to pull over and fine drivers who were not wearing seat belts…
…yes, please have the State “teach you not to do it again, and tragedies like this won't happen in the future” – and we’ll all live in a warm cotton-candy cocoon; you exist for the State, and all freedom is but a gift of Mercy from our Political Elites. Please pass more laws, and teach us what dwindling choices we can make.
Yes, it's always "Driver runs into school bus while trying to make a long island ice tea while doing 90mph", "Teenage girl drives of cliff while texting bff about 'completely lame' ex-boyfriend", or "Driver crashes into children's choir while putting on makeup". I've never seen the headline "Sober driver, with full attention on road and hands at 10 and 2, careens into bus carrying repeat sex offenders."
If we could just get people to stop texting, talking on cellphones, applying make-up, eating, and reading the paper (or other printed material) while driving, we'd be making progess!
Citizen tickets.
Carmageddon!!
If we could only pass a law that prevents people from being morons, we'd be all set.
Except all the jails would fill up.
New Jersey actually passed a law which takes effect in March which makes texting while driving a primary offense. This means a cop can pull you over if he sees you texting (or talking) on a cell phone.
I don't buy it. He didn't realize it was not a mailbox until 'hours later'? I'm sure that the kid-shaped splat on the ground in his rear view mirror was very mailbox like. I say the bastard was drunk, and waited a few hours to sober up, trying to avoid a felony.
Don't text if you're over 18.
plus it says he didnt even have a drivers license in the first place... this guy is BS, he knew he should have stopped. No matter what you hit you stop. period.
Oh, and check out this line "After driving back by the crash scene, Bigos waited several hours before turning himself in Thursday afternoon". As this happened at night, and he didn't turn himself in until the next afternoon, ya, I'd say he was under the influence of something other than texting. It's a classic weasel move, hide out and make up an excuse before you turn yourself in after you killed someone with your car. It wouldn't be the first time it's happened.
He'd have gotten a lesser charge if he was drunk, most likely. Vehicular manslaughter vs. vehicular homicide.
He's basically being treated as a murderer now, which is what he is. Somehow, our society considers being drunk when you kill somebody as some sort of excuse, rather than actually making it worse (as it should).
Jeff... Depending on the local laws, but in some areas (like where I live) if you kill someone with your car when you're drunk, it's a worse penalty then when you're sober. I believe that the thought behind that is if you made the decision to drive when you were drunk, that's considered intent. If you're sober, it's considered an accident. About 5-10 years back near when I live, a lawyer who was drunk killed someone on a bicycle by running him over, and the lawyer hid for a day or two. That way, it could not be proven that he was drunk, and he got off on a lesser charge then if he was. Now how this would apply to someone who was texting, I'm not sure, but I'd bet dollars to donuts (and I love donuts), that this is the type of thing that he's trying to pull.
Some of you guys need to learn how to take a joke. Though inappropriate, it was halfway funny.
Its not about talking on a cell phone or text messaging. It's about attention. Your attention can be diverted for any number of reasons. Cell phones are new and more visible so they getting more attention lately.
It should be illegal to talk on a cell phone at all, even hands free. It should also be illegal to have a car stereo or have screeming kids in the car.
So you want the legal right to kick your kids out of your vehicle because they're screaming?
..sweeet.
A while ago, I /was/ one of those screaming kids. The worst part was that we were louder than police car sirens...
bail was only $1000?
GTFO! The bail on the Baby Jesus theft was higher! And she was just across the street!
that's it for vehicular manslaughter and fleeing the scene of a crime which involved death? that has to be wrong.. you get a dui and that's jail time + $2500 bail. something isn't right.
well now it says he was released on $5000 bail. earlier I swear it said $1000. must've been a typo.
pathetic...i also agree with the theory that he's BS. poor kid.
Ya probably drunk, stupid @$$hole should not have been texting but then why were two 13 year olds out checking up on girls at 12:30 at night? These stupid accidents always seem to happen when everyone fails to be a responsible person.
Good question about the 12 year olds, but it's a secondary point. Regardless if they were going for a 12 year old booty call, or checking on the local homeless to make sure that they had enough blankets to make it thru the night, the question on what they are doing is neither here nor there.
Oh, I'm not faulting the boys, I was one once to. I just, as a parent, have to wonder what parent would let there kids wander around that late. Cause this is the stupid tragic crap that has a greater chance of occuring when parents are not watching.
balls I swear I will vote + on multiple computers to get you back in the green or even black ;)
Jesus fuck, don't do ANYTHING whilst DRIVING. You're in at least 3 tons of death. How fucking obvious do you need to get?
People are such stupid dumb fucks.
6000lb car? I know what you meant, so save your retort.
seriously. or text with two hands and drive with your knee atleast!
So how would laws against texting help? The man was driving without a license. Texting laws won't make a shit of difference and only serve to give problems to those who are responsible with their phones. It should be common sense not to use a phone when driving. We don't need more laws to make us into criminals every step we take. Let's put an end to this craze.
I guess you guys didn't hear of the other really bad story with texting. A group of girls, 5+ of them just graduated highschool, excited for college and we're going out for a night. The driver of the car picked up the phone and while texting got into a head on collision. Unfortunately, none of the girls in the car (with the texting driver) made it out of the vehicle alive. Really sad story.
I'm sure we've all heard about it. Yes, it's sad. The difference is, those girls didn't kill innocent people, they killed themselves. Any one of them could have stopped their own driver from texting, but no, they were *all* texting and talking and none of them were wearing seat belts (that I recall... which is why they died).
Texting while driving is not something that should result in death for *anybody*, but it is somehow worse when it's a completely innocent victim on the street who's hit by some jerk who's not paying attention vs. when it's the driver him- or herself putting Darwin to work.
That was suspected that it had to do with texting, but it was never proven. A text message was received by the phone just before they believe the accident occurred, but when you receive a text message, and when you read or respond to it are two different things. It's like saying that wearing a specific t-shirt helps your fav. sports team win. There was no direct link.
Tragic story, but you do know those of you condemning the guy have done one or more (or all) of the things listed in these comments. We all have. Texted/talked on the phone/eaten/put on make up/ect. All well and good to condemn him, but it's very likely you aren't so innocent either, just lucky.
Maybe you have, but I don't actually look at my phone for texting/surfing/email unless my car is stopped with my foot on the brake. When the light turns green I lock the phone and drive. I feel entirely justified in condemning him for texting while driving.
I tried to look for directions on my laptop while driving alone...immediately realized that's not safe, so pulled over into a parking lot and finished the job (did that everytime I forgot directions during that short trip).
Thing is not everybody realizes before its too late, so laws would help make everybody realize.
Right, but it stands to reason that you have eaten something or talked on the phone which are also considered distractions for the driver and (the latter only here) up for debate as being made illegal without hands free devices. Feel entirely justified if you want, but those who devote every iota of brain power and attention to driving the vehicle are few and far between.
Like I said, it's tragic, but these kinds of things are expected to happen when people try to multi-task too much and at the wrong times.
Cue the person who is the model driver, has their hands at 9 and 3 (not 10 and 2 for the cars with air bags!) and does no wrong while behind the wheel.
ALL of us? I can't drive and never will be able to drive because I'm legally blind. I'm a permenant passenger. While I get your point (don't condemn a man for doing something you have), the choice of phrasing is poor. Avoid using such blanket statements in the future.
Unless your intent was to open the door for people like me to slam the accused driver. I will gladly do so. If I was a passanger I'd take his cell phone away for the duration of the trip if I caught him texting. You MUST to pay attention to the road visually at a bare minimum while driving.
Really? That worked up over a statement that was connected to the previous statement and not intending to mean "all" as in all 6 billion+ in the world but "all" in the sense of all those who are condemning the guy? Deep breaths Tonnica.
I'm not trying to belittle anyone who is visually impaired or otherwise disabled and thus unable to operate a motor vehicle, I'm only saying that of the trizillion drivers out there a bajillion of them do things that detract from what their main focus should be: driving. They are amongst the posters here.
But thanks for the grammar/conduct/ethics lesson. Deep breaths now.
It was just a matter of time, people have done stupid things while driving for a long time now, mobile phones are just another way to be distracted while driving. I've seen bimbos in their SUVs actually cutting their hair in traffic. I seriously wished she would bump the car in front of her and jam the scissors into her forehead, possibly increasing her overall IQ.
Crash! *Continues Typing and driving*
...
...
Realizes later dent in car was caused by bicycly.
WTF!
"he didn't even realize what had happened until later that night."
Clearly this man was drunk - he didn't want a DUI charge ontop of his "motor vehicle homicide" charge - so he sobered up, realized what he had done, and came up with the excuse of txting. You people are stupid to believe he was txting. You guys must also be drunk - its the perfect time for an excuse - Its the holidays, 90% people get drunk because they have no meaning in their life and don't know how to enjoy themselves with out intoxication - morons. we live in a drunken world - it sickens me.
You are probably right. On all counts.
That should be an easy one to prove (subpoena his phone records). Now granted his excuse could be oh well when I hit the "mailbox" or whatever I put my phone away.
Personally I think this guy should have the F-ing library thrown at him. He did not have a license, which is the first problem (whether he was texting or drunk), which result in the death of another person. Whether he was distracted or drunk is above and beyond the first offense of the fact that idiot should not have even been in a car driving to begin with.
Interesting question would be why his license was revoked to begin with....
if they have text-to-voice. why can't they have voice-to-text?
this would be the only safe way of texting, just by speaking...
we need smarter AND SAFER phones!
because most human brains are smart enough to understand a computerized voice, but computers arent smart enough to understand the accent of an australian raised in india living in texas.
+1 for no new laws.
People crash all the time, whether or not cell-phone-related.
A couple of months ago I saw someone texting in traffic, while riding a motorcycle. He'd look down at his phone for a few seconds, slow down, look up at the road, speed up again and repeat. I got away from him as fast as I could.
I can hardly walk and text at the same time! Never mind driving! Hehehe
This is so sad, but new laws wont fix a thing.
Think of it. If there's a law that says you can't use your cell phone while driving, people will just hold the phone down on their lap and out of sight causing even more accidents.
Caution is the word of the day, and as sad as it is bad things happen. How many of us are guilty of being distracted by something in the car? The difference is that we didn't kill anyone when we swerved.
A lesson for us all in driving carefully, and a lesson for pedestrians in caution as well. Even with all the caution in the world sad things will still happen.
Hmm ets outlaw guns, then the criminals wont have them! Oh wait their criminals they dont obey the law.
Outlawing cell and driving will not fix things, and I can tell you that there were plenty of other distractions, and simaler things to this before cell phones. Maps, radions, girls, food, drink, have all been around much longer. We can''t outlaw everything.
if it's true that he was texting, i think we should be allowed to see the text message that was worth a childs life. maybe he is just saying this to take attention away from the fact that he should not have been behind the wheel in the first place.
I've never been for texting while driving. Look how bad it is when people are simply TALKING while driving. Texting takes even more concentration and chances are you will be taking your eyes off of the road while doing it.
I had a customer in my store the other day and just along the course of conversation I discovered that his son was currently in a coma. He had been texting someone while driving and mis-judged a turn in the road ahead, ran off of the road and into a telephone pole. He suffered severe head injuries and wasn't expected to live. Is the text message really important in the long run?
Should be locked away for the rest of his life...
I don't want to sound insincere, but this happens all the time. That's why it's illegal to use a cellphone while driving in many states, and the District of Columbia.
I txt sometimes from behind a wheel, a bad habbit I will put an end to starting now.
http://xkcd.com/161/
..he only thought it was a mailbox. Another sad example of video games causing gratuitous violence.
Too expensive to keep this loser in jail at the taxpayers expense. Better he serve his time as a living traffic cone for the State Highway Department.
LMFAO!!
But seriously, how much common sense and effort would it have taken to pull over and write the text?
Bill Lawson wrote:
"Great Logic. Let's see - Vehicular Homicide - 7 years, leaving the scene, 1 year, and tack on a misdemeanor $250 fine for texting while driving-that’ll sure show ‘em."
That's not what he said and you know it. He said someone pulled over and fined $250 for texting would be less likely to do so again. He didn't say adding $250 on to the list of charges was the deterrent. Honestly, some people have as much logic as the person who committed the crime.
The article ends with this:
"This morning a boy who said he was Machado's brother sat with on a bench at the back of the courtroom with another young man. They both wept."
Why do they need to report this? I think we know the kid's family is going to be sad.
They need to report this because thats the frickin story! A child DIED here. I know this is engadget, and its full of psuedo techie fanboys and losers, but for fucks sake, this is not a story about SMS. This is a hit and run.
Now please, go away and imagine this happened to YOUR child, or, seeing as your'e probably 13 yourself, your brother, or mother, or father, or nephew, or niece. Do you think you all would be such try-hard-wise-asses then?
Losers.
My point was that it seems disrespectful to report details like that. If I were a member of the family I wouldn't want something like that reported about me.
I guess that's just me, though.
Personally, I've had my phone for over 3 years (Nokia FTW) and can actually type a text with the phone in my right hand (I don't need to shift, automatic) down by ny knees, making the urge to look at it much less, I know where all the letters are for each number and can type a whole text flawlessly without looking, the only time I might check is at a stop light.
I know you're going to say "well it's the thought you're taking away from staying on the road." No, it's not, not for me, I'm a really good multitasker, aka, I've been passenger on a high speed pursuit typing messages to CenCom while trying to get a vehicle description, yeah, I can multitask. (and when I say I'm typing, I mean on the Police Laptops, much brighter screen, harder to refocus on the car)
ive seen women applying makeup during morning rush hour on i95~ how can cops pull u over for texting? unless you flash your phone
up in the air for everyone to see.
WOW that sucks. My problem is that the government should not be making laws for the sake of making laws. We do not need and I do not want a text banning law. I just want them to use already existing reasonable laws.
How about this. Txting while driving is CARELESS since most of your attention will be on that little screen.
Wait Careless Driving is already a ticketable offense. Go Figure.
I hope they throw the book at this scumbag.
Its a bad habit that I've recently broken out of. I had T9 on my old phone and was very good at one handed, barely glancing texting. Bought a blackberry Pearl and couldn't do it anymore, so I gave it up.
I feel better about waiting til I'm parked or at my destination to text replies now. Now I just gotta work on getting the gf to break her habit.
You need to change the title. I expected to read about a boy who texted a driver and then got killed by the driver.
Anyone think this guy just might not have been texting in the first place and is just trying to use it as an excuse for fleeing the scene of an accident? You know he's going to blame it on the phone instead of taking soul responsibility for his actions.