$5 Million Wrongful Death Settlement Reached in South Carolina Cell Phone Driving Accident that Killed Bicyclist
A judge has approved the $5 million South Carolina wrongful death settlement reached between the insurance company of Sharon King and the family of Thomas Hoskins. Hoskins, 49, was one of two bicyclists killed in a 2007 traffic crash involving a Chrysler Pacifica driven by King.
King is accused of causing the South Carolina car crash while talking on a cell phone. Her defense team, however, have argued that although she was distracted, she had dogs in the car and she was getting ready to operate the radio, King was not holding the phone when the South Carolina bicycle accident happened.
However, by agreeing to settle King is acknowledging that her distracted driving contributed to causing the South Carolina traffic accident. She also pleaded guilty to reckless driving in both bicyclists’ deaths. According to court records, when the car crash happened, King could see the road clearly, the weather was good, there was hardly any traffic, and the bicyclists had the right of way and were on the right side of the road.
Last December, a $2.5 million South Carolina wrongful death settlement was reached in the death of the other bicyclist, Lee Anne Barry.
The distracted driving accident involving Barry and Hoskins is just one more example of how dangerous it is to talk on a cell phone or text message while driving. Multi-tasking is not a productive habit when you are operating a motor vehicle.
Cell phone driving, texting, fiddling with the stereo or an MP3 player, putting on makeup, watching TV, surfing the Web, eating hot foods, playing games on your cell phone, or painting your nails are activities that can kill you and other people when you do them while driving. At this time, it is still legal to talk on a handheld device or text message while operating a car in South Carolina.
$5 million payment settles lawsuit, The State, February 5, 2010
Five million reasons to stay off phone while driving, Palmetto Scoop, February 6, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Distracted Driving
Cell Phone Laws, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
