Federal Way Police Chief breaks new cell phone ban law causing car wreck – JusticeNewsFlash.com news for Washington personal injury attorneys.
Seattle, WA (JusticeNewsFlash.com)–On March 26, 2009, Federal Way Police Chief, Brian Wilson, rear-ended a vehicle because he was using his cell phone while he was operating his unmarked police car. There is a law that prohibits sending, reading, or writing messages while driving that has just been passed. All law enforcement personnel are exempt from the recent cell phone use ban law. Police officers and law enforcement employees are exempt because they need to use devices to perform their jobs. What happens if the law itself breaks the law?
Unfortunately, the Washington city chief of police wasn’t using his cell phone for work related information; he was simply checking his email and looking at news headlines at the time of the car crash. As reported by, the Seattle Times, the chief was stopped at a red light, while he was using his BlackBerry. He supposedly thought the traffic had started to move again, therefore, taking his foot off the break and hitting the motor vehicle in front of him causing the collision.
No one in the accident was injured, and there was no damage done to either vehicle. Interestingly if he had it been any other ordinary driver, he would have been ticketed for breaking the law. The chief of police was not ticketed for breaking the law, hitting the car in front of him, or causing the rear-end damage to the other driver’s car. He did issue an apology, Thursday, after the automobile accident internal investigation, and he did admit he wasn’t using his phone for work-related reasons. The Federal Way Chief of Police stated this motor vehicle collision is exactly why the new Washington state law was passed because car crashes happen so easily. This was the chief’s one and only car wreck in his 28 years as a police officer.
JusticeNewsFlash.com news for Washington personal injury attorneys.
