TimesArgus.com - We Are Vermont

Driver making cell phone call hits van in Middlesex



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The Associated Press
Times Argus Staff - Published: November 11, 2009

MIDDLESEX – Cell phone use was partly to blame for a two-car accident on Route 2 in Middlesex, according to the Vermont State Police. Shawn Patenaude, 37, of Moretown was driving east at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday when he failed to stop for a delivery van that was making a left hand turn, police said in a news release. Patenaude rear-ended the van. Patenaude told police he was in the process of placing a call on his cell phone and said he was looking into the sun and didn't see the van stop.

No injuries were reported.

Police said Patenaude was using the cell phone in a "hands-free mode" and said the "safer course of action" is to simply not use cell phones or electronics while driving. "Even in hands-free mode a driver must take their eyes off the road in order to place or answer a call, and during a conversation, the driver's attention is diverted," police stated.







READER COMMENTS


There is no mention in this story Bill of any Criminal Act. Only a wise mention that cell phones and driving is dangerous... He is however guilty of not keeping his vehicle under control at all times by hitting the back of this van.
-- Posted by Melissa B. on Wed, Nov 11, 2009, 11:18 am EST

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With government turning everything we do into a criminal act, it is important to know that we have miranda rights. Even though you are required to provide information relative to establishing your identity any additional conversation can be used against you to incriminate yourself.
It is up to the prosecutors to prove you are guilty.

If police seize you, you must demand a lawyer.

Remember that hunting accidents have been turned into criminal acts involving jail time and even when the court applies more lenient penalties people are still being convicted of crimes.

It wont be too long before your penalty will be to serve in work camps.

The 5th amendment protects you "nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself"


We have LIBERTY to do as we wish but we also have personal responsibilities, We are accountable for our actions.
-- Posted by Bill Brueckner on Wed, Nov 11, 2009, 7:25 am EST

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