Teen Sentenced after Texting and Driving

   February of 2011, Aaron Deveau of Massachusetts was in a motor vehicular accident resulting in the death of a father of three.  Deveau was texting and driving when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed head-on into a vehicle in the next lane.

   Twenty-three percent of people openly admit to texting while driving.  The majority of those people were teens.  Who will be the next Deveau? 

   Recently, he was sentenced to a total of four and a half years in prison serving back to back charges of Motor Vehicle Homicide and Cause of Injury.  The judge ordered Deveau to serve one year, and apologize to the man’s girlfriend and children. Deveau says that he regrets his decision to check his text messages and would change it if he could.  This was his first offense and it has led to a widespread awareness to the dangers of texting while driving.

   So the real question is, how will you use this information in your own life?  Texting and driving is a serious matter and it can lead to injury or even death.  If you really want to talk to someone so badly that you would be willing to take the risk of killing someone’s father or even going to jail, then pull over and give them a ring.  Deveau was lucky that he wasn’t killed in the accident as well.  Don’t be one of the people on commercials holding a sign of the text you sent that led to someone’s death.  This really does happen.

   Another thing to think about is that, even though you may blow this story off, the police are going to start cracking down. Deveau is only 18 years old and for the rest of his life, he will have to live with this death on his conscience.   Nobody wants to go to jail or have someone’s death on their conscience.  Prison is a horrible place to be and if it is a child you accidently kill, it could be even worse.  Think of it this way: how would you feel if the person you’re closest to was killed because someone was texting and driving?  Is it worth it?