Calif woman gets 6 years for fatal texting crash

MyWay ^ | April 4, 2009 | Staff

[Turret Gunner A20]

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.

snip

[BenLurkin]

vehicle that burst into flames, killing 46-year-old

Nasty way to go.

[a fool in paradise]

How much would she have gotten for drunk driving? Why the difference?

[Deaf Smith]

Texting hasn't been classified as a disease just yet.

[TheMom]

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

That is not the same as texting. That is, however, really stupid.

[WOBBLY BOB]

lawyers haven’t yet dreamed up a ‘dram shop’ type law for cell phones...

[bgill]

Matis-Engle was going at least 66 mph when she rammed a line of cars in a construction zone on a road she took daily. She ignored eight warning signs while paying bills on her phone. An officer spotted her texting twice only months after the crash.

More info from Saturday's thread but that article didn't mention the victim burned to death. She should have been sentenced to more than six years especially when the judge heard she's still texting.

[keep your powder dry]

It’s California...kinda surprised she’s going to jail at all...

[Badeye]

Standing Ovation.

[MIchaelTArchangel]

She got off easy. I would have given her the maximum for her reckless and wonton disregard for human life.

She also deserves to do time for her hyphenated last name.

[LeonardFMason]

i hpe u r nt kddng me

[gridlock]

The fact that her behavior did not change after she killed a woman is amazing.

[avacado]

GUILTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Deborah Matis-Engle

http://www.redding.com/news/2008/feb/12/records-say-woman-texting-before-crash/

[hellbender]

She also deserves to do time for her hyphenated last name.

I've never heard of anyone who was admirable, or even decent, who had one of those hyphenated names. They all seem to be mean, angry, selfish, and liberal. But I'm being redundant.

[wolfcreek]

IMO, people should stop texting and using a hand-held phone while driving. (before a new string of nanny-state laws are applied)

[Free State Four]

The fact that her behavior did not change after she killed a woman is amazing.

An over-inflated sense of self is a difficult habit to break.

[soccermom]

good

[org.whodat]

Good!!!, Texting while driving should be stopped.

[calcowgirl]

Too late -- Nanny Arnold and his Democrat Kiddies have already arrived.

Texting while driving banned
Sacramento Bee, Thursday, Sep. 25, 2008

Keep those typing fingers on the steering wheel, California. Drivers will be banned from text messaging while operating a motor vehicle starting Jan. 1 under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"Banning electronic text messaging while driving will keep drivers' hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road, making our roadways a safer place for all Californians," he said in a statement.

Drivers caught texting while driving will face fines of about $76 for a first offense and $175 for subsequent offenses, including state and local fees,under Senate Bill 28 by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto.

"I know some folks say, 'Do we really need a law, isn't it common sense?' " Simitian said. "Unfortunately, common sense isn't all that common."

In July, California banned drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving, pushing them to use handsfree headsets in the car. That law already banned juvenile drivers from text messaging while driving, but not adults.

[Frantzie]

I was driving to an airport this weekend in a light blizzard. Some 20-something in a VW was on the airport road doing 60 mph (which is the speed limit) and was texting. The wind was blowing 30 mph with light snow.