In 2001, a University of Arizona student was riding his bike around 4 p.m. when he lost his life in a car crash. The victim, Matthew Preston, left behind a mourning mother who has aggressively pursued this wrongful death case in the Arizona court system. A court of appeals recently ruled against Melinda Preston by affirming a trial court's previous decision in the case of her son's death.

Melinda Preston and her attorney argued that the courts should have looked into the charge that the city of Tucson was negligent in caring for the roads on which the accident occurred, and the failure to improve the safety of bike paths in the city contributed to her son's fatal injury. They also insisted that the city failed to enforce the law that bikes are not allowed on sidewalks, negligent behavior which also led to the accident.

The court, however, believed that Melinda Preston did not have enough evidence to prove that the city's alleged negligence was directly related to Matthew Preston's death. The court of appeals agreed with that point, and also confirmed another ruling that troubled Melinda Peterson.

According to reports regarding the details of the crash, Matthew Preston had used his cell phone moment before the deadly accident. The driver of the truck who hit the victim reported the car accident to 911 at around 4:06 p.m. An investigation into Matthew Preston's phone records shows that he finished a call at 4:04 p.m.

The courts handling this case both argued that Matthew Preston was likely riding while distracted by his cell phone, and that negligence probably played a part in the tragic crash. Even though the victim was riding on a sidewalk rather than a bike trail, the courts knew that he had a clear view of the truck that hit him, and they believed that he failed to slow down when he had the opportunity to do so.  

Resource

East Valley Tribune: Appeals court: UA student's cell phone use relevant in accident case (8/24/2010)