Community Corner

DA Blodgett Talks Deadly Consequences of Texting and Driving

Blodgett was the guest speaker at the Peabody Rotary's meeting.

[The following was submitted by Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office.]

Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett recently spoke about the public safety issue of texting while driving.

“Statistics show that if you are texting while driving, you are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident,” said Blodgett, who urged the Rotarians to talk with their spouses and children about the dangers of texting and driving. “As I always say, if it’s predictable, it’s preventable.”

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Tragically, District Attorney Blodgett’s office was the first in the nation to prosecute a motor vehicle homicide that involved texting and driving. The defendant was Aaron Deveau, a Haverhill teenager, who, while texting and driving, crossed the center line and stuck another vehicle head on.

The driver of that vehicle, Donald Bowley, was in a coma for 18 days before succumbing to his injuries. Mr. Bowley’s passenger, who was his girlfriend, was severely injured and is still recovering physically and emotionally.

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“On a day in June of 2012, when Aaron should have been thinking about graduation or the prom, he was instead sentenced to 2-1/2 years in jail, with one year to be served,” said Blodgett. “He will not be able to get his license back until he is at least 33 years old. This was a tragic, preventable accident.”

District Attorney Blodgett has been teaming up with area high schools and AT&T during the past year to spread the message about the dangers of texting and driving, employing AT&T’s no driving and texting educational program, “It Can Wait!”

“The best thing we can do is educate them,” said Blodgett. “No LOL or OMGtext is worth the price one may ultimately pay.”

While his educational efforts have been focused upon young drivers, District Attorney Blodgett noted that drivers of all ages must get the message and resist texting while driving. “How many of us have been at a red light, and when it turns green the driver in front of us doesn’t move? That’s because they are texting,” he said.

District Attorney Blodgett also warned that if a driver puts his head down for five seconds to look at or respond to a text, he or she may have driven the length of a football field before looking up.That is more than enough time for a tragedy to occur, and change lives forever.


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