'Driver sentenced for killing cyclist, 16, while he was texting his girlfriend (who was sitting BESIDE him)'

Driver sentenced for killing cyclist, 16, while he was texting his girlfriend (who was sitting BESIDE him)
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:59 AM on 14th January 2012


An Oregon driver was sentenced Wednesday to more than two years in prison for a fatal crash that occurred while he was texting his girlfriend who was sitting next to him.

Deschutes County Circuit Judge Alta Brady told 29-year-old Erik Conn it was as if he were driving blindfolded last June when he drove into a teenager riding a bike with a friend.

Forrest Cepeda, 16, was crushed into a rock wall and died while his friend managed to jump out of the way.


Sentenced: Erik Conn, 29, was sentenced to more than two years in prison for a fatal crash that occurred while he was texting his girlfriend sitting next to him

Forrest's family appearing in court complained the sentence was too lenient for someone who was texting the person right next to him minutes before the crash.

'I do not want to be bitter, but my family and I are suffering a huge loss. We will never know what could have been or what should have been,' Forest's mother said in court, according to KTVZ.

Forrest's younger brother also expressed his grief over their loss, breaking down into tears while reading from a prepared statement.

'Forrest was a shy but brave young man. I did not just lose my big bro, I lost my best friend. Forrest not only protected me, he guided me ... to be the young man I am today,' he read according to KTVZ.

Conn, who has already served four months in jail, expressed assurance to the boy's family that what he did that day continues to haunt him.

'There's not a night where I go to bed I don't relieve this accident, Conn said, according to KTVZ. 'It's in every minute.'

Conn expressed his ability to image what Forrest's family is going through being a father himself.

'I definitely know there's no way to bring him back. I totally understand that,' he said, 'And me being the father of four girls of my own, I can put myself in all of you guys' shoes and feel exactly what you're going through.'

'I just don't understand who's being taken care of here,' Forrest's grandmother Carolyn Howiler reacted to the sentencing which is 28 months behind bars with three years' post-prison supervision.

'Certainly not Forrest,' she commented, according to KTVZ.

The vehicle Conn was driving was a borrowed pickup truck knowingly without break pads.

He admitted to having to swerve to the side when needing to stop.

'We as a people need to learn, by law, example, hard knocks or punishment,' Forrest's grandfather Bill Howiler read from a prepared statement, 'that breaking the law has severe consequences,' according to KTVZ.

He expressed particular concern of Conn's punishment being a 'slap on the wrist from the judicial system if you kill someone.'

Conn's drivers license was also permanently suspended.

Judge Brady told the courtroom that sometimes it's forgotten that driving is a privilege and not a right.

Conn says that in addition to his sentencing he will volunteer to speak in groups of the dangers of testing while driving.

Shale wrote:Only two fucking years for murdering someone out your abject STUPIDITY??

He should have gotten 15, which I think is the max for vehicular manslaugher here (tho also seldom given).

Marc™ wrote:How do you only get 2 years for this?