WASHINGTON-A Texas man who publicly blamed cell phone use for distracting his driving has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of criminally negligent homicide in connection with an auto accident last year that killed two people.
In a full-page ad in the Corpus Christi Caller Times on Jan. 26, Region Salinas admitted that talking on his cell phone while driving caused the collision that killed two members of a Brooks County family on Jan. 11, 2002. The admission was part of a settlement in a lawsuit filed by the victims’ family against the driver and the L.O. Construction Inc. firm that employed Salinas. The Caller Times first reported the indictment last Friday.
District Attorney Carlos Valdez told RCR Wireless News that the Texas Department of Safety last year referred the case to his office, which decided not to pursue it after concluding it was an accident. All that changed, Valdez said, after reading the newspaper ad late last month.
“He went far beyond an apology. He admitted guilt,” said Valdez.
Salinas, set to be arraigned before the case goes to trial, stated in the ad, “I allowed myself to be distracted and I didn’t give my driving all the attention it deserved.” In addition, according to the Caller Times, Salinas ad urged drivers to either use hands-free headsets or pull the car to the side of the road to make a call.
In a high-profile case three years ago, a 19-year-old Maryland man was acquitted of vehicular manslaughter charges and instead fined $500 for negligent driving for talking on his cell phone when he rammed into the back of a car parked on the shoulder of the road, killing a New York couple. At that time, the matter was closely watched by industry and lawyers after being billed as the first criminal case involving cell-phone distracted driving.
On a related front, the California Highway Patrol is expected shortly to release a report that, according to published reports, will target cell phones as the No. 1 cause of traffic accidents attributable to distraction. The report, according to CHP spokesman Steve Kohler, will provide ammunition for Assemblyman Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) and his bill requiring use hands-free headsets while driving.
The wireless industry has taken the stance that education is the key to solving the problem of cell phone use while driving, and it points to studies that identify other driver distractions as being more prevalent than phones. Some studies conclude headsets do little to improve drivers’ concentration.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is conducting studies on driver distraction. Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board this spring will report on an investigation of traffic accidents involving deaths and cell phone use by drivers.
