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Post by puffin on Feb 2, 2009 18:35:50 GMT
A motorist who sent and received more than 20 text messages before she crashed into another car killing its driver has been jailed for 21 months. Philippa Curtis, 21, from Suffolk, was texting before she hit the back of a stationary car at 70mph on the A40 near Wheatley in Oxfordshire. Victoria McBryde from Northamptonshire, who was dealing with a burst tyre, was killed in the crash in November 2007. Curtis, of Bury St Edmunds, was also given a three-year driving ban. Judge Julian Hall said it had been "folly and madness" to use a phone while driving and it had been "disastrous" for Curtis, Ms McBryde and her family. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7865114.stmI'd take the licence permanently from anyone who was caught using a phone to text whilst driving. She obviously hasn't learned the lesson if she is still saying it's ok to use the phone when you're driving. It's not that hard to turn the flipping thing off!! |
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Post by bertrus2 on Feb 2, 2009 18:40:12 GMT
What happened to Lord Ahmed? He was doing something similar.
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Scooby Do
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Where's my pic?
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Post by Scooby Do on Feb 2, 2009 18:41:33 GMT
and it had been "disastrous" for Curtis, Ms McBryde and her family.
The weeks understatement.
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Post by Victor Meldrew on Feb 2, 2009 18:41:49 GMT
21 months? What sort of joke that is.
she took a potential lethal weapon, used it irresponsibly with the inevitable result, and gets about a year (good behaviour, no doubt) for snuffing out a life. It's like I've always said. If you want to kill someone, do it with a car. The sentence will be minimal.
Yet another score for the spineless legal system in this pathetic island.
To think she lives in the same county as me too. I could have met her on the A14 at some stage.
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Nebula
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Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
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Post by Nebula on Feb 2, 2009 18:44:20 GMT
21 months is a joke.
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Post by flatandy on Feb 2, 2009 18:58:59 GMT
21 months is farcical. As is a three year driving ban. Laughable. Risible. Pathetic, as usual, from the authorities.
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Post by justmyopinion on Feb 3, 2009 6:45:56 GMT
"I can't really describe in words how bad I actually feel," Curtis told the court. "
Nowhere near as bad as the family of the girl you killed
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ricklinc
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Nostalgia
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Post by ricklinc on Feb 3, 2009 7:49:23 GMT
GOT OFF LITE. C U L8ER.
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mids
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Post by mids on Feb 3, 2009 8:59:37 GMT
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Woolf
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Look for the rainbow, don't just stare at the rain.
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Post by Woolf on Feb 3, 2009 9:54:08 GMT
No, you shouldn't.
Death by dangerous driving.
When will they bring in a law, similar to that in the USA of Vehicular Homicide and start locking people up using it.
Until they do, this will be repeated.
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sushimo
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One tequilla, Two Tequilla, Three Tequilla - Floor.
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Post by sushimo on Feb 3, 2009 16:43:07 GMT
If I was the parents of that dead girl I would be devastated. How can 21 months be a deterrant to killing someone on the roads by bad driving?
Utterly sick!
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Post by puffin on Feb 3, 2009 17:27:28 GMT
The victim's mother made a statement after the sentence. Judge Julian Hall said it had been "folly and madness" to use a phone while driving and it had been "disastrous" for Curtis, Ms McBryde and her family. But Ms Ford said she did not think the sentence was enough of a deterrent. "My Tori was horribly killed by Philippa Curtis because she chose to use her mobile phone while driving in pitch black and at 70mph," she said. "Tori was my shining star, my truly beautiful baby and my friend. "I would like to say that Ms Curtis's sentence is the judges decision - though I feel it was the wrong one. Ms Ford said everyone who used their phone while they were driving made a conscious decision to break the law. "My family is shattered irreparably, my sentence is life-long sadness." news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7866843.stm |
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VikingHumpingWitch
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Post by VikingHumpingWitch on Feb 3, 2009 17:40:13 GMT
Not really "disastrous" for Curtis. She'll be out before she's had time to settle in. Awkward, socially embarrassing, disruptive for a short while sure, but disastrous? Can't help feeling it was more so for the victim and it's somewhat insulting to compare the two.
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Post by Libby on Feb 3, 2009 19:47:43 GMT
21 months is an absolute farce for taking a life. Time will fly and she will get to live the rest of her life free. What about the victim's family, they have a life sentence of mourning.
According to another news article on the story, she also hit other vehicles, so it was fortunate the death count wasn't higher. It could've been carnage.
Quote from article ~
She made various calls and sent text messages to a number of friends using predictive text on her flip-top phone. Shortly after making a call, her car hit Ms McBryde's parked car, then spun into oncoming traffic, hitting two more vehicles.
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