Homicide-while-texting trial to begin for teenage driver

As the state's first prosecution of a motor-vehicle-homicide-while-texting case gets under way against a Haverhill teen tomorrow, new statistics suggest the one message plugged-in drivers of all ages aren't receiving is to hang up their phones.

Two hundred and eighty-three drivers were cited by police in the first three months of this year for sending or reading a text message behind the wheel, according to the Registry of Motor Vehicles. At that rate, the state is on track to cite more than 2,600 drivers by year's end — more than double the 1,147 bagged for texting in 2011.

"I see it all the time. It's not going to stop until it happens to them and they say, 'I should have learned my lesson.' But by then it's too late," said Cindy Bowley, whose brother-in-law Donald Bowley Jr. was killed last year in a head-on crash with a teenager who police said was texting.

Aaron Deveau, 18, is believed to be the first person in the state charged with motor vehicle homicide as a result of texting, according to Registry officials and Herald record searches. His trial is due to begin tomorrow in Haverhill District Court. Cindy Bowley said her family will be there.

"My husband's been through a lot of heartache since it happened," she said yesterday of the loss of his brother. "(Donald) lived downstairs from us and he used to come up and talk every morning."

Donald Bowley, 55, a father of three from Danville, N.H., was in a 1992 Toyota on River Street in Haverhill on Feb. 20, 2011, when Deveau, then 17, drifted over a double yellow line, according to police reports. Police said Deveau "was texting while driving."

Neither Deveau nor his lawyer could be reached for comment yesterday.

Donald Bowley suffered severe brain damage in the crash and died 18 days later. His passenger survived. State police spokesman David Procopio said changing drivers' behavior is an ongoing "challenge."

"With texters, we've got the added problem of age and experience," Procopio said. "They are often teens and young adults, and thus are not seasoned drivers and have the false promise of invincibility that youth brings. ... There is always going to be a segment of the driving population we are not going to reach through education and deterrence. That doesn't mean we stop trying — we won't — but for now the challenge remains."

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