WASHINGTON-Lawyers for a North Carolina firm are in talks to settle a lawsuit brought by the estate of a young girl killed earlier this year when a commercial truck-allegedly operated by a driver reaching for his cell phone-rammed into the rear of a school bus that had stopped.
“Mountaire Farms of North Carolina continues to provide support to the Hernandez family as we negotiate terms of a potential settlement. Out of respect for the family, all discussions are private. Final terms will be subject to the court’s approval,” said William Purcell, a lawyer for the company.
Purcell said discussions began with the family immediately after the accident, and mediation began April 15.
The Jan. 13 crash killed Shelia Hernandez, 6, while injuring her mother, bus riders and truck driver Gary Garnett. Hernandez’s family filed suit Jan. 22.
Mark Locklear, a North Carolina lawyer for the Hernandez estate, declined to comment.
The litigation has implications for businesses that equip employees with wireless devices. Garnett and his former employer, Mountaire Farms of North Carolina, are defendants in the lawsuit in Robeson County Superior Court.
In February, Robeson County (N.C.) District Attorney Johnson Britt charged Garnett, 38, with misdemeanor death by vehicle. Garnett, according to press reports, told state troopers he was trying to grab his cell phone, which had fallen to the floor of the 18-wheel rig. Garnett’s next court date is May 13.
Wireless carriers are split on how to address distracted driving, a problem not unique to popular mobile phones but one-when combined with other wireless consumer issues-that has tended to blemish industry’s image in recent years.
Studies say talking on cell phones while behind the wheel increases the chance of an accident. At the same time, other research has found hands-free units do not actually reduce risk.
New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia and some towns that outlaw handheld-phone use by drivers. In 2003, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 42 states considered restricting phone use by drivers. National legislation has been introduced in Congress, but has not advanced very far. At the same time, many foreign countries have passed laws requiring drivers to use hands-free devices for wireless phones.
The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association opposes state and federal legislation that would restrict the use of mobile phones by drivers, arguing safety education is the key. Verizon Wireless, the nation’s No.1 mobile-phone carrier, supports hands-free legislation.
While Cingular Wireless L.L.C. does not back such legislation, the country’s second-ranked mobile-phone operator, has the most comprehensive program to educate young drivers about the risks of distraction. Cingular Wireless would become the nation’s top cell phone carrier if its $41 billion purchase of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. is approved by federal regulators later this year.
After investigating a 2002 crash in which five adults were killed after a young driver on a cell phone lost control of her Jeep Grand Cherokee, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended a new, federally funded media campaign-in addition to industry’s ad campaign-to stress driver safety to novice drivers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which hired Ogilvy Public Relations to develop an ad campaign on driver safety aimed at teenagers, is gathering data on driver distraction from on-road and driver simulation experiments. Some results are expected this year.
In January, California Assembly member Joe Simitian (D) reintroduced legislation mandating hands-free use of wireless on the road. Last year, the lawmaker’s bill passed in the State Assembly, but stalled in the Senate. The new measure differs from last year’s in that violations would not jeopardize driving licenses or cause auto insurance rates to increase.
Whether state, federal or industry efforts to curb distracted driving are paying off is unclear. Last year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said that after an initial drop in driver operation of handheld cell phones in New York following enactment of a driver-distraction law three years ago, usage has returned to pre-2001 levels. More recently, however, state officials have begun to crack down with stronger enforcement.
