When seventeen-year-old Aaron Deveau slammed his car head-first into oncoming traffic, his eyes weren’t on the road. They were focused on a text message — one of 193 texts he sent that day. A few moments of inattention resulted in the death of a father of three, as well as severe injuries to the deceased’s passenger.

In a case garnering national attention, Deveau recently became the first person to be convicted under a new Massachusetts law imposing harsh criminal penalties on anyone who causes injury or property damage as a result of driving negligently while texting. Deveau was convicted of both vehicular homicide and negligent operation and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. Deveau also won’t be getting in the driver’s seat anytime soon: his license has been suspended for fifteen years.

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