Driver who was allegedly texting when he hit, killed boy is indicted
Motorist is accused of sending text messages and being under the influence of a prescription drug when he struck the 14-year-old who was riding his bike in Huntington Beach.
By Stuart Pfeifer
10:25 AM PST, November 19, 2008
A motorist who was allegedly sending text messages on his cellphone and under the influence of prescription medication when he struck and killed a 14-year-old boy on a bicycle in Huntington Beach last year has been indicted by a grand jury on felony charges.

Jeffrey Francis Woods, 21, was allegedly sending text messages on his mobile phone on Aug. 29, 2007, when his pickup truck swerved across several lanes on Indianapolis Avenue and struck the boy, Daniel Oates.


Oates was thrown about 150 feet from his bicycle and killed. Woods' truck crashed through a wall and into the backyard of a nearby home.

Woods was under the influence of Vicodin and Xanax at the time of the crash, prosecutors allege. A grand jury indicted him Nov. 10 on charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and driving under the influence.

Woods was scheduled to appear this morning for arraignment at the Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana.

i really, really wish that drivers would leave off cellphone use and texting

That's messed up.


I'm not of huge fan of texting. I know a girl at work who ran into the back of some while texting. She now has a metal plate in her foot, and has pain when she walks. This was about 4 years ago.

It's a horrible habit that I am guilty of doing from time to time.

Shitty.

XxAxX said:

not to mention the Vicodin & Xanax

JustErin said:

Seriously???

Thankfully it is illegal in the UK now, but I still see plenty of idiots using mobile phones while driving

how in the fuck does one text and drive at the same time?

i thought just chatting on phone and driving was stupid.

xenon said:

Texting and/or using a cell phone while driving is now illegal in California....but it doesn't seem to stop many because I still see tons of people using their cell phone while driving!

xenon said:

Yes. Seriously. It's not hard to do...stupid...but not hard to do.

horatio said:

they can't!! that's why 14 year old kids get mowed down..

xenon said:

i wonder if this is what happened to this teenage boy who was mowed down by an unmanned caddilac. He died, he was just waiting for his school bus.
apparently the driver jumped out of the car in motion. i could just imagine the idot driving the car being some chav scum texting and seeing and getting scared that he lost control of his car, bailing out of it. dumb ass. he killed a 16 yr old boy.

Flowers2 said:

130 injured and 25 dead!! if I remember correctly,

xenon said:

yes ..

JustErin said:

I'm gonna sign off for a bit before I say something I don't want to, I don't get serious about much but this is one thing that just... AAAAhh!

xenon said:

Go ahead. You can tell me off, it's ok. I know it's stupid. It's not like I'm saying its fun and that we all should do it. I was just confessing that I've done it.

I do lots of other bad things too.

JustErin said:

I admit I did it, too. Only once or twice, but it was really bad.

But you know what? Just dialing can be dangerous, too, even if you're wearing a bluetooth.

JustErin said:

people have run over and killed folks while digging for french fries in the bottom of the bag...people do stupid shit all the time when driving...

but of course, texting or using the phone while driving is the ultimate in stupidity and those caught doing it should be put to death...

roodboi said:

I'm a horrible human being.

JustErin said:

join the club...
I'm sure everybody that has posted on this thread has been horrible at some point and time...
it's amazing to me that people feel so strongly about driving and texting...so much so that they have to log off....

ok, I have calmed down a bit,

I'm still totaly gobsmacked though that Erin and Roodboi don't find this a big deal. We've all done stupid things in our live's (me more than most) but to put someone else's life in danger goes way beyond stupid and well into total recklesness.

JustErin said:

i think a stoning is in order

x
[Edited 11/19/08 15:01pm]

honestly.

texting while driving should have been illegal before driving while talking on the cell phone.

horatio said:

Or at the very least a spanking.

I tried to do it once while stopped at a red light and I found it impossible. The light turned green and I wasn't even halfway done. I take too long to text--bad hand/eye coordination. I never did it while driving again.

xenon said:

I dont think Erin or myself are downplaying the recklessness of it...Erin admitted it was/is a stupid thing to do... I just dont rank it above any number of distracting things that people do while driving...folks do alot of simple,seemingly innocent things while driving that could cause an accident or worse...just getting behind the wheel is putting somebodys life in danger, in my opinion...anything that is a distraction from driving should be frowned upon...I could not be convinced that anyone that drives doesn't allow themselves to be distracted by something at some point and time...

roodboi said:

exactly, it's very dangerous, but how many people have driven drunk? I realized the other day that looking for parking in San Francisco is like driving drunk. Only about 5% of my mind is driving, the rest is looking for a space. It's easy to judge, but we're all guilty at times.

I've driven onto the freeway while holding a quarter pounder, steering with my knees so I could shift gears.

NDRU said:

co-exactly

NDRU said:

What I don't get is how people actually DO it. When eating or talking on your cell phone while driving, your eyes are still on the road, right? How do you text and drive if you're looking at your cellphone all the time?

sextonseven said:

dude, I know some folks that know their keyboard well enough that they rarely look at it while texting...it's like some sort of 6th sense

and you're right, your eyes are on the road while eating...until mustard drips on your new shirt...