Driver sued for updating Facebook during fatal crash

By | February 17, 2011, 8:18am PST

Summary: A wrongful death lawsuit is accusing a driver of updating Facebook on her cell phone, after she killed another driver standing outside of his car.

21-year-old Chicago motorist Araceli Beas has been accused of attempting to update her Facebook page on her cell phone when she allegedly struck and killed 70-year-old Raymond Veloz. The victim’s daughter, Regina Cabrales, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court, asking for an unspecified amount of money, according to The Chicago Tribune.

Cabrales alleges in her suit that Beas operated her vehicle without keeping a proper and sufficient focus, drove while using an electronic communication device, and failed to slow down to avoid an accident. As proof, she points to the fact that Beas’ Facebook page showed an update posted at 7:54 AM on December 7, 2010, which is the same time that Veloz’s cell phone records showed a call being made to 911.

Veloz had exited his vehicle after getting into a minor accident with another motorist at around 7:30 AM. He was standing near the other driver’s vehicle exchanging information when he was struck by Beas. His right leg was partially severed, and he lost too much blood. Veloz was pronounced dead at around 9:30 AM in a nearby hospital.

Beas told police that she had been temporarily blinded by the sun at the time of the collision, which resulted in a ticket for striking a pedestrian in the roadway. The driver involved in the earlier minor collision with Veloz told officers at the time that they had been temporarily blinded by the sun as well. Beas’ mother, Rosario Rodriguez, came to her daughter’s defense claiming that she posted the Facebook update as she sat in her car while waiting for it to warm up outside her boyfriend’s home, which is located two miles away from where the crash occurred.

Cabrales’ lawyer, David Wise, acknowledged that he still needs to figure out whether the timing mechanisms of both Veloz’ cell phone and Beas’ were in sync. He also must verify whether Beas’ Facebook page did, in fact, update immediately.

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Emil Protalinski has covered the tech industry for five years for multiple publications.

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Emil Protalinski

Emil has nothing to disclose.

Biography

Emil Protalinski

Emil Protalinski has covered the tech industry for five years for multiple publications, including Neowin for two years and Ars Technica for three years. He has written 1,000s of articles for both, with a particular focus on scrutinizing Microsoft products and services. Recently, Emil has expanded his coverage to non-Microsoft technologies, including the social networking giant Facebook.

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Another word for Accident
BoneLazy 26th Mar
Our Culture needs another word for Accident. Most of them aren't. An Accident is an unforeseeable event. There is actually a fairly high probibility that there would be something on that road that shouldn't be there. If it is true that she couldn't see properly then she should have slowed down considerably. Had the object in the road been thew back end ofa truck then it probably would be this ladies funeral instead. If she was going fast enough to cause serious injury when she had poor viability then to my mind she is just as culpable. The Crime should be called "Driving while stupid"
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There will be little doubt.
TripleII-21189418044173169409978279405827 17th Feb 2011
The timing and billing record will tell the tale. The networks are likely all synced to the national government NTP server. Whether FB updated "instantly" or not is not the question, look at the timestamps on the billing records and call records.

TripleII
@TripleII
Except this is Chicago. My sister got a ticket for talking on a cell-phone (not hands-free), and even after she provided her cell-phone records to show that she didn't place a call in an almost 2 hour window around that time, the ticket still went against her. Even the judge didn't care. In other words, what the cell phone records say means absolutely squat to Johnny Law in Chi-town.
@reziol : But was sheusing the phone for something else? Text messaging? Surfing? It's all lumped into one category. They don't have separate tickets for talkking, texting, and surfing.
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Are you sure about that?
BoneLazy 26th Mar
When i was in America last year I started to wonder it the Law was slightly different there from here in Australia. I saw so many people talking on their cell phones while driving that it appeared to me that the law REQUIRED people to use their Cell phones while driving because there seemed to be far more people with phones held up to their ears than not. But Maybe that is just New jersey?
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@TripleII, there's the possibility she clicked "send message" and put the phone away before waiting until it posted. On a slow 2g connection, it's really likely that it could have taken several minutes to post.

Facebook has pretty good timing, but it's entirely possible the posting time is not 100% accurate. Since they don't appear to be regulated as to whether their records should be accurately time stamped, there's 1000 reasons why the clock could be inaccurate. First thing that comes to my mind is that the NTP daemon on the server has failed to connect recently and system clock is running off of the performance counters of the CPU (which is common) and has transitioned between power saving and full power enough times that the speed step glitches added up. A 2-5 minute clock skew is really not hard to imagine. I have several machines in my house that are "NTP synced" that occasionally forget about that and once I found a machine that had forgotten in 5 months earlier and was 7 hours off.

Unless Facebook is required by law to maintain correct time signatures, I'd say that your argument while interesting is invalid.

Of course, this case makes a valid point that Facebook is now a legitimate record keeping source and should be required by law to maintain a guaranteed time sync. It's wouldn't be hard to make a requirement that each server not only uses NTP but also has a means of monitoring skew.
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Are we really supposed to believe she was more interested in updating her Facebook than the fact she's just hit (and mortally wounded) a pedestrian?
@jeremychappell

I think the point they are trying to make that the person driving was updating FB while driving therefore did not see the person on the road and hit them.

All I have to say if the person was updating FB or texting then they should be punished more harshly. I am sorry I see it more and more where people have their phones in their hand doing crap they do not need to while driving. I rarely answer the phone while driving let alone attempt to text or post to FB. It's just stupid to do that I work in a high school and we have had two major deaths because of situations like that. One of them killed 3 kids in the car because the driver was texting. Some may think the laws are silly but there is a reason that they are there. All cars should be equipped with bluetooth as a safety feature and the driver be shown how to use it just like a seatbelt or airbag.
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@bobiroc The point I was trying to make was if the "Facebook update" happened around the time of the crash it stands to reason she'd been updating it while driving (after all, who is going to update their Facebook AFTER hitting someone?) For me, the fact that she'd been updating Facebook while driving shows she's not paying sufficient attention to driving. I'd convict on this evidence alone.

Mobile phones are a menace while driving, here in the UK attitudes are changing, and using a mobile phone while driving is fast becoming socially unacceptable (like drinking and driving).

I too work at a school (albeit part time), and I totally agree with your views - every life is precious, someone's child or parent, partner or friend; they should not be squandered for a text message or Facebook update.

Using a phone while driving is wrong.
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Bluetooth won't help. The issue is not hands free operation but the inability of the human brain to cognitively multitask to give sufficient attention to the task of driving which requires most of the brain's awareness when driving. Humans are just not wired for this type of activity.
Bluetooth may not be the answer for taking a phone call, but there is no excuse for texting, updating FB, etc. while driving. Might as well be reading the sports page. People just don't take driving seriously enough.
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@bobstaggers You're largely right about bluetooth/handsfree kits. Studies have shown the problem to be composed of two aspects of human cognition; the inability to multitask or taskswitch efficiently (one study showed only 1 in 200 participants was able to perform two simultaneous tasks as effectively as one) and the high priority we instinctively place on social interaction, thereby innately prioritising talking to Mum about the shopping over not hitting the pedestrian.

When the other party to the conversation is remote we dedicate even more attention to the conversation because we lack the body language clues that we rely on for effective communications.
@bobstaggers and andrew.stephen, I took the test mentioned (during another study) and was one of the lucky few. I've always been interested in this topic and have been training my mind for multitasking since youth. For example, practicing talking on the phone with one ear, listening to an audio book using the other and reading another book at the same time. Eventually, I got to the point that the person I was talking to couldn't tell I was doing anything else and afterwards, I was able to pass tests with the same average grades as when I only did one thing at a time. I don't believe I'm a natural with this, but instead that it can be learned with practice. I can only describe it as an issue of focus.

That said, I still don't feel comfortable talking and driving at the same time. And I've only had one accident in the past 15 years and sadly, it was my fault for not having spent the extra $50 on a better set of tires. The snow got me. You have to respect the road and realize that even if you're paying 100% attention to the chaos around you, its still not enough. I like to joke that if we were designed to respond to events while moving at 100 miles per hour, we wouldn't need cars but would simply have the physical ability to do it on our legs.

Now, the real issue at hand isn't whether people can or can't multitask while driving, it's a matter of how we can make it safer as there's absolutely no possible way we'll stop them from doing it. To suggest that just because a study says it's still dangerous to use a hands free we shouldn't take that route, in reality, we should study how much of a difference there is between the two. I believe you'd find that while we know it's still dangerous to talk on a phone while driving, it's still safer than either leaning your head to the side to cradle the phone or consuming a hand to hold it.

I am willing to assume that driving with full normal function of your hands and head is safer than driving with one less hand or a ridged neck.
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@jeremychappell
Her attorney is saying that she updated her FB status "before" she started driving - while she was parked in front of her house waiting for the car to warm up. Not while she was driving like the decedent's daughter and attorney are claiming.
@reziol : OK. Then if not updating Facebook, then she still gets charged with manslaughter [or whatever]. I'm sure she can still get taken to court for civil damages. After all, it is the US - home of liberty, lawyers and justice for all.
@jeremychappell : People are stupid. They do not care about the others around them.
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I'm just waiting for all the anti facebook trolls to come out and drone on about the evils of social networking...

IF Beas was on FB (or texting or otherwise engaged in an activity distracting her from driving) then she should be charged for the crime and punished accordingly. If she was (as she claims and other witnesses at the scene appear to be collaborating) blinded by the sun then it is in the end an unfortunate and tragic accident.
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Evil, no; Useless, yes
bobstaggers 17th Feb 2011
Was always curious about what on earth all these Facebook members spend so much time doing on Facebook?
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@bobstaggers In my case keeping up with old friends and family who I'm unable to see in person often due to residing across the US continent... sure picking up the phone might be easier but to me it is priceless to see pics of my nephews and the next best thing to seeing them in person every day. And recently keeping up with the condition of my best friend's wife who was recently hospitalized and had her baby delivered 4 months early.

Perhaps Facebook is useless to some and I can understand how one would feel that way but to me it is at times an invaluable tool. It is not however the be all, end all that a lot of other people claim it to be.
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Another word for Accident
BoneLazy 26th Mar
Our Culture needs another word for Accident. Most of them aren't. An Accident is an unforeseeable event. There is actually a fairly high probibility that there would be something on that road that shouldn't be there. If it is true that she couldn't see properly then she should have slowed down considerably. Had the object in the road been thew back end ofa truck then it probably would be this ladies funeral instead. If she was going fast enough to cause serious injury when she had poor viability then to my mind she is just as culpable. The Crime should be called "Driving while stupid"
How low can a lawyer go? the woman obviously deserves to get sued, but not for any facebook posting. She deserves to get sued for driving to fast for conditions. If she can't see, she should have stopped! Why isn't that obvious to more drivers?
FB is titally irrelevant to this whole story except for possibly gaining evidence of timing. It could have been ANYthing besides FB distracting her, so let's not let this turn inot an FB trashing.
If the driver was texting, publishing or anything else while driving the car, then they're guilty of that. FB has no causality in this matter.
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@tom@...

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@tom@...
If she wasa updating Facebook, then Fb does have causality in the situation at hand.

I think your use of the word causality was incorrect for the point you were trying to make. Perhaps you meant "liability", in which case I agree.
Hey athynz, Your wait is over, Facebook and all the other SN sites are garbage. Sooner or later you will figure that out and get better educated.
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@jdavid1953 See my reply to bobstaggers above and then come back and tell me how I need to ...figure that out and get better educated..
Isn't anybody the least bit curious as to how or why the plaintiff knew to look at the woman's facebook account?
Was there a witness saw her texting? Did she admit to texting? If any of that is true why wasn't she charged by the Police with Vehicular Manslaughter, if it is in fact the case why isn't she being charged now?
@spin498 - I was wondering the same thing myself. I would assume that the police looked at or confiscated her phone and if as you say there was any evidence of usage around the time of the crash, they would have filed charges. Doesn't make sense...
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Someone has to say it...
i8thecat Updated - 17th Feb 2011
Veloz was an idiot... The first rule after you have been in an accident is get to a safe place (where other cars cannot hit you)... But no.. The Dumb@ss stood right where he could get clipped by another idiot driving while updating her FB status to "driving like an idiot"... I call that a well deserved natural selection... So shoot Araceli in the head and we will have 2 less morons in the world instead of only one.
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WOW...karma much?
UrNotPayingAttention 17th Feb 2011
@i8thecat

I'm sure glad I'm not a member of your family...because your statement above no doubt just cursed someone close to you.
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Get a clue...
i8thecat 17th Feb 2011
@chmod 777

Bad Karma is what took Veloz and ho-slapped Araceli with a civil suit. I have done volunteer work with the handicapped my entire life... Good Karma is always with me... And so is honesty... The facts still stand, Veloz was an idiot, he stood in a dangerous place and got exactly what he deserved and Araceli is a moron too.

Calling an idiot an idiot does not spawn bad karma... You obviously have no clue what Karma is... Go study Buddhism if you really want to understand what Karma is.
@i8thecat

... Wow ... did you run out of medication?
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@i8thecat While I would not have put it as bluntly I have to agree with you.
@i8thecat

I'm very impressed that you seem to know all the details of the accident. If the cars were off the road, clearly onto the shoulder, and her car swerved out of her lane and hit him then he DID move over to a safe area. Of course I don't know if he was standing in the middle of the road or was 10 feet off the traveled portion of the highway, but you don't either. You assume that he was standing in the road. Don't you remember what your coach told you about ASS-U-ME?
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Distractions and common sense
sissy sue 18th Feb 2011
People should not be playing with high-tech toys while operating a 3,000 pound weapon.

I've seen some very bad driving by people on hand-held cell phones. What I don't understand is why this obviously dangerous practice isn't made illegal in Pennsylvania.

If a person is more interested in talking or texting, or whatever, than driving, they should do the world a favor and park it. I'm not really blaming the technology; I've seen drivers who cannot talk to a passenger sitting beside them without looking at them the entire time.

If it is proven that this young woman was updating Facebook at the time of the crash, she deserves whatever punishment she gets.
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This exact thing happen near a town where I live. And I am not sure what they were able to prove or not prove. However, in the girl's defense: in my area, the driving conditions were horrible. There was lots of construction going on, motor homes all over the place, motorcyclists, and biblicists, all on a two lane road. I was nervous driving that entire day (drove a 4 hour trip on that road) and was not surprised when I came upon an accident. I would not have wanted my young driver on the road that day. Therefore, it's likely this article does not contain enough information to make a real opinion on whether or not she was actually updating Facebook. Perhaps the conditions were such as the accident would have happened either way. In fact, since it did happen (to the person who was killed) it is probably why the police did not prosecute her.
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Sorry. Spell check killed me on the last post. I hope you can read it.
The most damning evidence was that her update read "Look at this fool in the middle of the ro"
(If this is a second posting, apologies to ZDNet.com and other readers.)

I'm an American long resident in Southeast Asia, but as I'm in the US on an extended visit, I do have an interest in this subject.

IMO -- not humble, either -- talking, texting social networking, etc. while driving not only should be outright banned, but violators should receive stiff, attention-grabbing punishment. I'd think starting out on a first offense -- with no other violations involved -- a fine in maybe the upper three-digit range would be nice. $750, say (and adjusted upward annually based on the COI). Third offense -- confiscation of the hardware AND a prohibition of owning or using any device capable of allowing the guilty to repeat the behavior, a prohibition for at least a significant time, such as a year. With the addendum that a violation will land the person squarely in jail for a nice, lengthy stay.

I see this in asia all the time, where blabbing, texting etc. is de riguer, a status symbol. I also have seen any number of accidents resulting directly from such activity, and I do mean I've personally witnessed such accidents. I once was lightly bumped by a car starting up after the driver had stopped for a stop sign -- he got out, apologized, and told me he hadn't even seen me because he was talking on his phone. I wasn't at all injured, but the incident did make me mall the more aware.

Call this one version of a "tough love" approach.
(If this is a second posting, apologies to ZDNet.com and other readers.)

I'm an American long resident in Southeast Asia, but as I'm in the US on an extended visit, I do have an interest in this subject.

IMO -- not humble, either -- talking, texting social networking, etc. while driving not only should be outright banned, but violators should receive stiff, attention-grabbing punishment. I'd think starting out on a first offense -- with no other violations involved -- a fine in maybe the upper three-digit range would be nice. $750, say (and adjusted upward annually based on the COI). Third offense -- confiscation of the hardware AND a prohibition of owning or using any device capable of allowing the guilty to repeat the behavior, a prohibition for at least a significant time, such as a year. With the addendum that a violation will land the person squarely in jail for a nice, lengthy stay.

I see this in asia all the time, where blabbing, texting etc. is de riguer, a status symbol. I also have seen any number of accidents resulting directly from such activity, and I do mean I've personally witnessed such accidents. I once was lightly bumped by a car starting up after the driver had stopped for a stop sign -- he got out, apologized, and told me he hadn't even seen me because he was talking on his phone. I wasn't at all injured, but the incident did make me all the more aware.

Call this one version of a "tough love" approach.
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@athynz

Do what ever you want on Facebook, but does it need to be done 24/7 no matter where one is at? Do you need to be looking at pics of your friends or relatives while driving? Now I am not saying you do this, but I see it everywhere. People texting (even though it is now against the law in Georgia) or who knows what else on their cell phones while driving.

I have one thing to say to those who feel the need to communicate 24/7, hang up and drive. Save the communicating for when you are behind the wheel of a 3000+ pound weapon.
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RE: Driver sued for updating Facebook during fatal crash
jackson1984-24316069205748857739440257893812 10th Oct
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