Driving while distracted has increasingly become a problem in the age of smartphones. In 2022 alone, more than 3,300 people were killed as a result of distracted driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And this past week, a Colorado teacher was found guilty of killing a 10-year-old child while texting and driving.
In December, a jury found Amy Weiss, a middle school teacher from Timnath, Colorado, guilty after she unintentionally killed a young boy. She struck Oliver “Ollie” Stratton with her vehicle in 2023. Sadly, he later died from his injuries.
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The Colorado teacher was found guilty on December 20.
The jury convicted Weiss of careless driving resulting in a death, KDVR reported. The defense argued that another driver blocked her view right before the crash, preventing her from seeing the boy in time. Prosecutors, however, claimed she was distracted because of texting while driving.
The fatal accident happened in August 2023.
The crash happened at roughly 6 p.m. August 2, 2023. Weiss was driving an Audi SUV while looking at her phone when she hit Stratton, who was riding his bike, ABC 7 Denver reported. Although Stratton was taken to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead.
Before the trial started, Weiss pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence.
Weiss’ trial started on December 16. Before it began, she pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence, the Coloradoan reported. Weiss admitted to sending and receiving texts while driving before the crash and then deleting the messages.
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Weiss will be sentenced in March 2025.
Weiss faces up to one year in jail for the careless driving resulting in a death charge, a misdemeanor. Additionally, she could be forced to pay a $1,000 fine, KUSA 9 reported. Weiss’ sentencing date was set for March 7, 2025.
After the guilty verdict, Oliver Stratton's parents spoke out.
The 10-year-old’s parents, Clarissa and Rod, told People they didn’t believe Weiss’ guilty verdict was “justice” for their son because of the light punishment.
“We call on Colorado and other states nationwide to pass tougher laws and harsher penalties that will truly hold distracted drivers accountable,” they told the magazine. “The District Attorney’s office did everything it could under the current system, but we all must do more.”
