No cellphone for 2 years for Michigan driver in fatal bike crash

[rockin'robin]

A Michigan woman accused of being distracted by her cellphone when her car struck and killed a bicyclist has been barred from using any portable communication device for two years.

"I don't think she has a right to have a cellphone," Clinton County District Judge Stewart McDonald said. "I think it's a privilege."






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Police said Mitzi Nelson was distracted by her phone last fall when she hit Jill Byelich, 35, who was riding a bike near DeWitt, north of Lansing. Nelson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge.

Nelson, 23, will spend at least 90 days in jail over staggered periods and must speak to new drivers about the dangers of distracted driving, the judge said Wednesday.

Byelich's husband, Jordan Byelich, suggested the cellphone ban. He hugged Nelson in court before she was taken to jail.

Defense attorney Mike Nichols said he doubts he will challenge the sentence and phone ban.

"Mitzi may be just fine with that," he told the Lansing State Journal.

Nichols praised Jordan Byelich's compassion after witnessing the hug.

"That's what it's all about," he said.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015...driver-in-fatal-bike-crash/?intcmp=latestnews

 

[hoichi]

Wow...gotta love justice....
90 days and no.cell phone for 2 years for killing sOmeone...
Meh

 

[rockin'robin]

I feel the same way, hoichi...could not believe what I read....

 

[Reba]

Slap on the wrist.

 

[Bottesini]

That's a sad travesty of justice.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

I would not be able to hug the person that killed one of my love one.
So this what a person's life is worth today , a damn cell phone!

 

[90sWizKid]

You know what's also a privilege? Driving...maybe taking her license away would have been more of a punishment...the fact that she was distracted while driving is the big issue, the phone was the object but a phone is not the only thing in a car that can be distracting, being able to drive relies on self-control and good choices...

I'm tired of people getting off easy when poor decisions cause the death of an innocent person. In some places, the first time you get a DUI, that's it, your license is gone, and the drunk driving accidents/fatalities are much, much lower than they are here in the States...check out Sweden's laws, they're pretty strict, the BAC level there is 0.02 (meaning just having one drink would put you over)...some places make the offender place a breathalyzer in the vehicle so the car won't start unless they blow under the legal amount, which, honestly, wouldn't be the worst thing for everyone to have...

 

[whatdidyousay!]

You know what's also a privilege? Driving...maybe taking her license away would have been more of a punishment...the fact that she was distracted while driving is the big issue, the phone was the object but a phone is not the only thing in a car that can be distracting, being able to drive relies on self-control and good choices...

I'm tired of people getting off easy when poor decisions cause the death of an innocent person. In some places, the first time you get a DUI, that's it, your license is gone forever, and the drunk driving accidents/fatalities are much, much lower than they are here in the States...

That would require having common sense and there is a short supply of it today. You're so right that should had happen she should not be allowed to drive for the rest of her life b/c the person she killed can't do anything .