A 16-year-old Connecticut girl has charged with vehicular homicide and failure to drive in an established lane, after she struck and fatally wounded a 43-year-old jogger in March.
Kenneth Dorsey, an avid runner, was out for a morning jog, when the 16-year-old driver of a Toyota 4Runner veered out of her lane and hit Dorsey. Police say the teen was searching the New Canaan High School website on her iPhone at the time of the accident.
Police are not releasing the teen’s name, because of her age, but do say she turned herself in on May 12, 2012, when she learned there was a warrant out for her arrest.
If convicted, she could face up to 6 months in jail, a 30-day license suspension and a $175 fine.
Dorsey’s father, Leo, does not feel that he punishment is stiff enough.
I want her not to forget what she did through stupidity, he said. I just don’t want to see Kenneth forgotten. I hope that her punishment is that she doesn’t forget. And maybe she passes that on to her friends and down the road to her own family.
“According to the NHTSA, 5,500 people were killed in 2009 as a result of distracted driving and another 448,000 were injured. 16% of all fatalities in 2009 included reports of distracted driving, and teens are most likely to be involved in a fatal crash as a result of distracted driving.”
Leo Dorsey says he plans to push for stricter cell phone legislation.
There’s no reason to use a phone while you’re driving a car, Leo Dorsey said. There is nothing out there that important. I totally, totally have to believe that these phones can be made to shut off if they’re moving. I’m pushing for phones that don’t work when they’re moving.
Last month, we published a similar article about a Platte County 16-year-old girl who is being charged with manslaughter for the death of a 72-year-old woman, as a result of texting and driving, and is facing up to 4 years in jail for her crime.
The family of the elderly woman killed does not want the girl to face jail time but would rather she spend the time doing community service.
Do you think the families of these victims should have a voice in the punishment process and what can be done to curb texting or cell phone use while driving?