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Man Receives One Month Jail-Time for Killing Woman

By Katie Kelley

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 26Jun2011 Word count: 464 Viewed: 297 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

A Michigan man was sentenced to one month in jail with a 12-month probationary period after killing a woman while texting and driving. It was the first case of its kind since the state banned texting with driving in August 2010.

Some lawmakers say that the penalties for texting and driving imposed are not tough enough, and that they need to be changed. Penalties for drunk driving are much harsher. For example, many states require a minimum four-year prison sentence and a permanent driver's license suspension.

While awareness of texting while driving dangers have increased, few drivers see answering a text or checking email while operating an automobile as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. There have been numerous academic studies that have shown that texting while driving can be just as dangerous, or even more so, than drinking while driving, as it causes distractions behind the wheel.

Jerry Joseph, forty-one, pleaded guilty in April to a moving violation causing the death of 78-year-old Irene Paquin of Attica Township, Mich. Paquin was the passenger in the car driven by her 81-year-old husband, Paul. Paquin leaves behind five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Phone records obtained by the police clearly show that Joseph was texting seconds before he broadsided the Paquins.

According to Police Lt. Patrick McGreevy, "Our investigation, we believe, showed that texting was a contributing factor to the person failing to stop at the stop sign."

Police departments have been favor of tougher rules against texting while driving. "It [texting] takes away three things from the driver," McGreevy commented. "It takes away the visual because you have to look at the cell phone, it takes away the manual because you have to use your hands and it takes away the cognitive because you have to think about what you are doing, what you are texting."

Even though Joseph will only spend one month in jail, he will have to pay over $5,000 in fines and restitution. While Joseph's sentence seems light, Lapeer County Prosecutor Byron Konschuh said that the sentence was fair under current law. Konschuh says that the statistics he has seen shows that texting while driving is three to four times more deadly than operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He is trying to have the penalties stiffened in Michigan, making the penalty for causing serious injury to a five-year felony and causing death a 15-year felony.

Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, has been a vocal supporter of tougher punishment for driving texters. While in Illinois for a summit with government leaders last month, he said that distracted drivers in 2009 caused at least 5,500 deaths and 450,000 injuries. He believes that these numbers are much lower than the actual numbers, however.

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