This much is established as fact: Kyle Best, 19 years old at the time of the accident, struck an unnamed couple on a motorcycle behind the wheel of his pickup truck. The impact was severe enough that both rider and passenger lost their left legs, but were lucky enough to survive that accident. The root cause? Distracted driving, as Best was exchanging text messages with Shannon Colonna at the time of the accident.
Best has already pled guilty to multiple violations of New Jersey law, including careless driving, failure to maintain lane position and use of a mobile phone while driving. Now, in what Autoblog claims may be a legal first, the injured couple’s attorney has named both Best and Colonna in a civil lawsuit. The attorney alleges that Colonna knew Best was behind the wheel, and her actions were no different than if she’d been in the car at the time of the crash.
Colonna’s attorney insists his client can’t be held liable for another’s bad decision (to read the texts while driving), and furthermore Colonna did not realize the dangers of texting while driving. We’ll buy into the first part of that statement, but not the second half: does anyone in this country not fully understand the dangers of texting while driving?
A judge will decide whether Colonna can be added to the suit on May 25. If the judge decides in favor of the plaintiffs (the injured couple), the case sets an interesting legal benchmark. Since loosely-enforced laws don’t seem to work, maybe the best way to stop texting while driving is to hold both parties accountable when an accident occurs.
Image credit: flickr user jkbeitz, licensed under CC 2.0
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
