Posts
Police: Driver browsing Facebook at 85 mph kills 89-year-old
20-year-old Abby Slatten was allegedly speeding while scrolling pictures on Facebook. Police say she plowed into another car, with fatal results.
Texting and driving leading to accidents seems like a common occurrence these days.
However, an accident in North Dakota suggests an extreme example of a driver using a cell phone without any regard for safety.
20-year-old Abby Sletten of Hatton, ND, was, police say, driving at between 84 and 86 mph down a highway while simultaneously checking pictures on Facebook.
As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports, her SUV allegedly plowed into the back of another SUV without so much as slowing down. The other SUV was, according to reports, trying to make a U-turn.
89-year-old Phyllis Gordon was seated in the front of that SUV and died of her injuries.
The accident happened May 27 on Interstate 29 between Fargo and Grand Forks.
Police say they examined Sletten's phone after the accident and "determined that [she] was viewing pictures on her Facebook application...at the time of the crash."
In North Dakota, it's illegal to use your cell phone while driving. The fine is $100. Local Traill County Sheriff Mike Crocker told Valley News Live that the penalty should be greater.
"We gotta have a reason for them to not text and drive," he said.
Sletten has been charged with negligent homicide. The maximum sentence is five years. She appeared in court Wednesday and was released on her own recognizance. She allegedly claims to have no recollection of the accident at all.
Police say she had also received and sent several text messages in the period just before the crash.
No comments:
Post a Comment