N.J. judge to decide if text sender liable for car crash

A New Jersey judge will likely soon decide whether a woman who sent a text message to a male friend can be held liable for a car crash he caused while reading the message.

The Daily Record reports the legal question stems from a lawsuit filed by two Dover residents who were seriously injured when a 19-year-old driver crashed into their motorcycle in September 2009. One victim had one of his legs torn off above the knee, while the other had her leg amputated because the injury was so severe.

The driver received three motor vehicle citations and pleaded guilty earlier this year. He was ordered to speak to 14 high schools about the dangers of texting and driving and had to pay about $775 in fines, but his driver's license was not suspended.

The victim's lawyer claims the woman aided and abetted the driver's negligence by texting him when she knew or should have known he was driving.

However, her lawyer is seeking to have her dismissed as a defendant, saying she had no control over when the driver would read the message. He also claims the legal arguments made by the victims' attorney are not supported by case law.

For example, he said a passenger could be held liable for a crash if they encourage a young driver to speed or ignore traffic signals. But the woman had no control over the driver's conduct since she wasn't in the car.

In a deposition for the case, the woman said she didn't know whether her friend was driving when she texted him. But she also said she "may have known."

Alan Smithee wrote:LOL, nephew, enjoy your 5 extra rep points. My finger slipped. I'm going to have to disagree about both of them deserving jail time. My wife gets texts all the time while she's driving and when she doesn't answer right away the senders pester her about it some times and she tells them nicely (usually) that she was driving so they had to wait. She didn't make him read the text. I don't agree that people should be held responsible for providing the temptation.

I heard something on the radio this morning that this suit could be a legal strategy to use against the kid who hit the couple because, and I think I'm saying this right, a guilty plea can't be used in a civil suit. That's what was stated by a lawyer. So they may be trying to get her testimony admitted. Still a fucked up situation.

AtownPeep wrote:Silly judge for even bothering to ponder such a thing. Anyone can send a text at any time. It's the recipients responsibility to have common sense enough to know when it is and isn't appropriate to read it.

Judge: Texter not liable in accident

Published: May 25, 2012 at 3:54 PM

MORRISTOWN, N.J., May 25 (UPI) -- A New Jersey judge said Friday a young woman was not liable even though she sent multiple texts to a driver involved in a disastrous accident.

Shannon Colonna was 17 at the time of the 2008 accident in Morris County. The driver Kyle Best was 18.

Morris County Superior Court Judge David Rand said Colonna had no way of knowing when Best would read the texts, and therefore had no responsibility for the accident, MSNBC reported.

Rand said drivers suffer from many forms of distraction -- text messages, notifications from smartphones, GPS devices or signs along the road, ABC News said.

Best's vehicle struck a motorcycle with David and Linda Kubert aboard, the report said. The couple, in their late 50s, suffered a number of injuries and each had to have a leg amputated.

Skippy Weinstein, the Kuberts' attorney, tried to include Colonna in a lawsuit. The (Newark) Star-Ledger said Colonna had eaten lunch with Best of Wharton and exchanged 62 text messages with him before the accident.

ABC said Best pleaded guilty to distracted driving, and records show Best responded to a text from Colonna seconds before dialing 911.

The Star-Ledger said Colonna testified she "probably" did not know that Best was driving when she texted, and she texts "probably like 110 [times] or more."

"I mean, I'm a young teenager," she said. "That's what we do."

The ABC report said Best was ordered to speak to 14 high schools about the dangers of driving and texting. He also had to pay $775 in fines, but his license was not suspended.

The Star-Ledger said the Kuberts have since moved to Florida, where David Kubert has been denied disability.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/05/25/Judge-Texter-not-liable-in-accident/UPI-35031337974375/#ixzz1vuhQEObd