Texting While Driving Verdict Sees 10-Year Sentence Handed Down
A man convicted this spring of texting and driving and causing an accident that killed two teenagers will spend the next decade behind bars. A jury convicted 35 year old Kenneth Furne of texting while driving when his pickup slammed into the back of a vehicle being driven by Jennifer Perez.
The accident happened on County Home Road in November of 2016. The accident killed 16 year old Selena Apodaca and her sister, 13 year old Isabella Severson. A third daughter, Elysia Severson, now 17, suffered serious and permanent injuries.
The sentence handed down by the judge was a compromise of requests from the prosecution and the defense. Furne's sentences will run at the same time for a total time served of 10 years in prison. The judge in the case also said that Furne has never been in trouble before and that after 10 years he'll be able to begin to make restitution.
The judge concluded that this case was an example of how a phone can become a deadly weapon and that the judgement sends a message that texting while driving cases can and will result in serious consequences.
[via KCRG]