Posted on 11/13/2015 5:15:40 AM PST by simpson96
Julie Hollenbeck-Newman says it's hard to forget the sight of shoes, socks and backpacks scattered on the street outside Centennial High School and her teenage daughter being loaded into an ambulance last January.
Her daughter, Sarah Hollenbeck, was so disoriented that she didn't know that she and two of her friends had been hit by a car while in a crosswalk near their school, the mother said.
But she took notice as emergency responders placed sheets over her friends, Samantha Jester, 15; and Alla Kovalenko, 16; she thought they were dead, though they survived.
Hollenbeck spent six days in the trauma unit at OHSU Hospital recovering from a concussion, fractures to her skull, knee and pelvis and other injuries. On Thursday, the now-16-year-old, her mother and her two friends were among those gathered in a Multnomah County courtroom as a judge sentenced the driver who hit them to five months in jail.
Elizabeth Dove, 24, crashed into the teens on Jan. 15 while she was taking video of her 3-year-old son in the back seat of her car.
Hollenbeck-Newman said the mere thought of losing her daughter made her almost inconsolable.
"You know what you did was wrong," she told Dove in court. "You not only could have killed three innocent young girls, you also risked the safety and well-being of your own children. Think about it for a minute, what if you were in our shoes?"
Dove averted her gaze as the three teens talked about their lives since the crash and their lingering injuries.
(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
in 3...2...1.....
should have been 2 years
I can’t drive anywhere without having someone drift into my lane because they’re texting. Texting and driving is a primary offense in VA with a $125 1st time fine, but it must be tough to enforce.
And justice for all .......if you can afford it. Dove and her family forked over some good money to their shark lawyer to buy this so-called justice.
If someone calls me while I’m driving, I just don’t answer it. That’s what voicemail is for.
Young mother with 2 children in the backseat was texting on a 2 lane road when she ran my wife, who was completely off the road trying to avoid her, and the kid still managed to hit her. Trashed both cars and the young mother still managed to drive on for a mile before her 2 flat tires made her pull over.
No charges. Our car had 3000 miles on it, her’s was a beater. At lest no one was hurt. Cell phones should be outlawed.
Agreed, it can wait. Whatever it is, if its important, they will call back.
I will talk on my headset. But, I also make a point to hang up if there is any significant traffic or weather, etc.
This is on the interstate, not in a blended car/pedestrian environment.
The head-on, single car accidents are almost epidemic around here.
You know when you see the coverage on TV the reason why.
Most involve young drivers.
I have seen women putting on makeup while driving 70 mph.
That's not exactly 'on her cell phone'.
I can’t imagine being able to text while driving; having a regular conversation is hard enough. I worked a job where I couldn’t let calls go to voicemail for a short drive at the end of each day, and if the phone rang I had to deal with it. Where possible I would pull over; I’m no stickler for laws, but just couldn’t concentrate on the road while doing business. I hated it; I guess these younger people really think they can handle it (unfortunately).
Pretty much how they treated drunk drivers who either killed or injured people years ago. “Oh, he was drunk, well no matter. Next?”
Hopefully, justice will come through the civil suits which I hope are breathtakingly painful to the woman who nearly killed these kids.
This cell phone text/video while driving is akin to the dogs that chase cars. They know not what they do and the problem is often ‘self-resolved’ by the car’s tire.
Too bad some innocents are sacrificed while the idiots texting meet the Karma Police. Then again some of those ‘innocents’ could very well have been defenders of the right to do whatever one wants.
It would be too much irony for two texters to meet at 60mph.
I'm really surprised none of them has shown up here. Maybe they killed themselves all off on the roads??
Not all that many years ago; husband & I were on the road a
lot. We had to stop at phone booths all along the way in
order to verify appointments, etc. - He got one of the
first HUGE cellphones that took up a whole passenger seat
in the car. - Now, cellphones are about the size of an Oreo
cookie & EVERYBODY has one stuck in their ear 24/7. - I
wonder how in the world they ever survived without the
ubiquitous cellphone. \s
When I see people driving and looking down at their groin, I honk.
Whatever they are doing can wait!
I was doing 75 or so on the interstate once when a woman passed me.
She had one of those giant buckets of ice cream propped up at a 45 degree angle on her door and was going to town on it with a spoon.
This was also during morning rush hour.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.