Texting While Driving Trial of Martin Kuehl Begins | Seattle Car Accident Lawyer

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What happens when someone is texting while driving and hits and kills a pedestrian? The trial of a 42-year-old man from Costa Mesa, California began on Monday. Martin Burt Kuehl was accused of fatally striking a pedestrian in a crosswalk with his car while texting. The victim was a 32 year-old woman named Martha Ovalle. Kuehl is accused of showing no regard for the safety of the pedestrians on the road in Newport Beach as he was text messaging on his phone. During the trial on Monday, the defense argued that Kuehl wasn’t actually texting at the time that he struck Ovalle with his vehicle.

While Kuehl is extremely remorseful and “riddled with guilt,” his phone records show that he was text messaging for 30 minutes up until the time of the crash. While Kuehl’s defense states that he only texted once, and that was at a red light, Kuehl is facing up to nine years in prison if he is convicted.

Straight Talk Law has been emphasizing the importance of refraining from texting while driving for some time now. In the coming weeks we will be launching and focusing on a campaign that we hope can help put an end to the dangerous habit. In the meantime, please, please do not text while you are behind the wheel of your car. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Martha Ovalle and anyone else who has been affected by negligent and distracted drivers.

This information is provided by www.straighttalklaw.com, where you can order free books on Washington auto accidents, auto insurance, and other valuable legal information, offered as a public service by Jason Epstein and his law practice Premier Law Group in Seattle, Washington.