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Sunday, May 09, 2010
Courts - "Family sues over daughters' deaths in crash with Illinois trooper on cell phone"
A chilling story reported today by Len Wells in the Evansville Courier & Press:
As Illinois State Police begin enforcing the state's distracted driving laws this month, the family of Jessica and Kelli Uhl is asking the state of Illinois for $43 million as compensation for the loss of their teenage daughters who died in a wreck with a trooper who was using a cell phone and car computer.Jessica Uhl, 18, and Kelli Uhl, 13, died in a fiery crash Nov. 23, 2007, when an Illinois State Trooper driving to a traffic accident at 126 mph crossed the median of Interstate 64 near Scott Air Force Base and slammed into their car.
Evidence presented in trooper Matt Mitchell's reckless homicide case revealed he had received a cell phone call from his girlfriend and was e-mailing a fellow trooper on his on-board computer in the seconds before the crash — all while traveling in excess of 120 mph.
Mitchell entered a negotiated guilty plea in the case and was placed on 30 months probation. He has been suspended with pay.
The case is now in the state's Court of Claims, where the victim's family is asking for compensation for the loss of their children. Larry Trent, the Illinois State Police director at the time of the accident, testified that Mitchell's actions were "indefensible."
In announcing plans to enforce the state's distracted driving laws, Captain Richard Kinter of the Illinois State Police District 19 post at Carmi said that the latest figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicate that nationwide, 6,000 people died and another half-million were injured in 2008 because of distracted or inattentive drivers.
Kinter said two of the most dangerous distracted driving behaviors are talking on a cell phone while driving and texting while driving. Illinois currently has a number of laws on the books to control these behaviors.
Under Illinois' Graduated Driver's Licensing Law, all people under the age of 19 are not allowed to drive and use a cell phone. Effective Jan. 1, two other laws concerning distracted drivers went into effect:
- In Illinois it is unlawful to use a cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA) or portable computer to compose, send or read text messages or access the Internet while driving.
- The other law prohibits cell phone use entirely within a school speed zone or construction zone.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 9, 2010 06:04 PM
Posted to Courts in general