A Rohnert Park teen, in a Rohnert Park crosswalk while allegedly sending a text message on her phone, was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter today.
Kaitlyn Dunaway, 18, allegedly caused the death of Calli Murray by texting while driving, driving at an unsafe speed for the conditions and failing to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said.
Ravitch said a misdemeanor charge was filed because the alleged driving offenses do not amount to felonies.
The accident has garnered a storm of media coverage, specifically because a band of Rohnert Park residents say the issue is bigger than the tragic death of a little girl. , and they want .
"The enrie law enforcement community is concerned about getting the message out that drivers shouldn’t text and drive," said Assistant District Attorney Christine Cook. "What seems like a few seconds of distraction can have lasting impact and can result in tragedy."
Dunaway, a Sonoma State University student, was issued a citation to appear in Sonoma County Superior Court at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Ravitch said.
According to Cook, Dunaway faces a maximum of one year imprisonment.
The collision at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 1 also injured the girl's mother, Ling Murray, 42, who also was in the crosswalk at Snyder Lane and Medical Center Drive in Rohnert Park.
She suffered major injuries and was in a hospital, then a rehabilitation facility, until early March.
"This is a tragic case," Ravitch said in a news release. "The Murrays will forever mourn the loss of their young daughter."
Ravitch said Dunaway is presumed innocent unless and until she is proven guilty.
"Without regard to the facts or outcome of this case, it bears repeating that driving while texting is a dangerous and real threat to every member of our community. Drivers, passengers and bystanders are all at risk," Ravitch said.
Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety Sgt. Jeff Nicks said in December that Dunaway acknowledged she was using her Verizon phone at the time of the collision but she was unsure if she was texting or talking on the phone.
A headset that would have enabled hands-free phone use was not found in Dunaway's 1997 Honda, Nicks said.
Murray and her daughter were returning to their Rohnert Park home from nearby Sunrise Park. They were walking east on Snyder Lane in the crosswalk approximately 11 feet from the curb when they were struck by the Honda on their left, Nicks said.
Nicks said speed was not a factor in the crash.
Dunaway, a freshman, was returning to Sonoma State University after visiting her mother's home and was devastated after the crash, Nicks said.
Jeff Murray simply said "finally" on his Facebook page today after news broke.
This article is by Angela Hart and Bay City News. Copyright © 2011 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Good god, you mean to tell me that if I ran over somebody at a crossalk while i was texting I would just get a slap on the wrist and short jail time, what about the dead child that will never get to go to school or the prom. Hope Kaitlynn has a great tikme at volley ball, NOT>>>>
If you give her 1 year. Honestly, people will not take this crime seriously! And honestly, this is worse than a DUI. Because when your drunk, your judgement is impaired. But when you text while driving, you are fully aware of the dangers and risks. Can't blame it on the alcohol. You were stupid and selfish. Now you have to pay the price.
whats sad to me is the put up a beautiful memorial to Calli,and a few days later removed it all because its "distracting". Rohnert Park community needs a HUGE wake up call.... There way of making that cross walk safer and more visable...a neon green cone next to the park where the cross walk starts....WOW!!!! Reality check people!!!!
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2011/05/20/MNQN1JI4TU.DTL&object=%2Fc%2Fpictures%2F2011%2F05%2F19%2Fba-rohnert20_0503492059.jpg This is the face of someone who no longer cares about her life or what happens to her. This is a tragedy for this young woman also. In all other respects, this is an exceptional young woman who wanted to be a police officer after college. Now her whole life as she knew it is over. Now, there are people who are not going to like this, but I think the mother of the child is partially responsible. The car was not speeding, so it had to be close enough to the crosswalk for a pedestrian to wait for it to pass. As a father of a young girl, I would have waited and not taken any chances by stepping into a crosswalk in front of an approaching car at 5:30 PM in December, when it is dark out. Texting or not, a driver may not see someone in a crosswalk in the dark!
A violation of law, such as texting/talking on phone while driving.
In the United States, misdemeanor manslaughter is a lesser version of felony murder, and covers a person who causes the death of another while committing a misdemeanor – that is, a violation of law which doesn't rise to the level of a felony. Why bring volleyball into this? I'm sure YOUR hobbies are very relevant to any law you've broken. I'm sure you've NEVER gone over 65mph on a freeway.
Seriously? What does this have to do with students of Rohnert Park? Yes, she was a student at SSU, but that seems pretty judgmental of you to think that ALL students of RP are driving through crosswalks while texting. Maybe this should be a wake up call to people WALKING through unguarded crosswalks, too.
2.) Her actions outside of school should have no reflection upon her academic standing at a public school. 3.) She's NOT getting away with MANSLAUGHTER, which is different than murder. There has been no conviction yet. She STILL may serve time in jail. 4.) Both of them had/have lives ahead of them. Don't discount Dunaway's life just yet.