STAR/TRIBUNE
A motorist whose car rear-ended another vehicle as she reached for her cell phone, setting off a chain-reaction crash that killed a 14-month-old boy, was given a maximum four-year sentence Tuesday by an Anoka County judge.
Jessica Howe sobbed uncontrollably when Judge Alan Pendleton handed down the sentence. Pendleton said that he found the sentencing very difficult but that when he weighed the options of either a shorter or a probationary sentence, he couldn't find a reason to validate something other than the maximum.
Before the sentencing, the parents of Grayson Jett gave emotional statements to the judge. Both parents said that at various times since the March 2010 accident in Columbia Heights they didn't feel they could go on with their lives.
Howe apologized several times to the family and said she thinks about Grayson's death every day.
The accident occurred at 11 a.m. on March 18, 2010, on southbound Central Avenue at 50th Avenue NE., inflicting head injuries to Grayson Jett The child was properly strapped into a car seat.
Howe's parents and other friends and relatives were also in the courtroom Tuesday and they expressed shock over the sentence.
I think this is a fair sentence. I mean a 14 month old kid was killed because some lady decided to take her eyes off the road she was driving on. It's a law, and she decided to break it so she definitely deserves to be punished.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Hinx! It's very stupid how people are on their phones while driving and they should know that they are risking their life and everyone around! I mean, is it THAT hard to not look at your phone for a while? And, she killed a 14 month old child!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the punishment handed down. We have had warnings time and time again about using cell phones while driving. Now a 14 month old child is dead because she could not wait to answer her phone. What could have been so important it could not, because now a lot of lives are ruined!
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm not surprised by this. Since in China, it's so easy to let someone be in jail for ten years, fifteen years or so. Even though it was an accident, she did kill someone, ended someone's life. The good thing is that she feels sorry, and learned from this experience. I also feel sorry for the family and the little kid. It gives people alarm that driving is not playing, people need to pay attention and carefull all the time. Sometimes, little fault causes terrible problems.
ReplyDeletePeople need to learn that if they want to make stupid mistakes to be on their cellphones and drive, then they deserve the punishment they get. They learned that from day one in drivers ed that you need your attention at the wheel on the road, and being on the phone is definately distracting. If there was no punishment for the people who think they need to do this, then where is the justice for the life or lives they took in this simple action??
ReplyDelete