Correction: This story was revised at 10:53 a.m., Jan. 10, 2012, to correct the spelling of Kristina Lowe’s name.
The car crash that killed two teenagers early Saturday in West Paris stands to become a powerful symbol of the dangers of not just drinking and driving, but of texting and driving, which Maine outlawed last year.
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“If there was an accident which illustrates the dangers of texting while driving, to teenagers, this would be it,” said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety. “I hope this would be something all drivers around the state who are tempted to text while driving will remember.”
The 18-year-old driver of the Subaru that crashed on Route 219 will be charged, say police, who allege that Kristina Lowe of West Paris had been drinking and was texting friends who were at a party just as she lost control on a patch of ice.
Lowe’s condition was upgraded from critical to serious Sunday at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Hospital officials were releasing no information on her condition Monday.
Killed in the crash were Rebecca Mason, 16, of West Paris – who had sneaked out of her house minutes earlier – and Logan Dam, 19, of Norway.
Jacob Skaff, 22, of South Paris suffered a head injury but walked away from the single-car crash. Police found him later Saturday at Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway, where family members had brought him for treatment.
Just three months ago, Maine’s ban on texting while driving took effect, carrying a $100 fine.
Young people who were interviewed Monday said it’s understood that texting and driving is dangerous and against the law, although they know some teenagers do it.
“I feel like people in general know it’s not a good idea, but they sometimes do it anyway,” said Devon Miller, a 17-year-old student at Portland High School. “You don’t think (an accident) will happen to you.”
Will Chapman, another Portland High student, said that in the city, teenagers might text at red lights, but not usually while they’re driving.
The crash in West Paris “showed that it does happen,” he said.
Ebonie Stevens, 15, said she has had to scold her mother for looking at text messages while driving. “I tell her, ‘You can’t do that, it’s illegal,’ ” she said.
Stevens, who has her learner’s permit, said she ignores her phone while she’s driving.
“It’s so dangerous. You can get in an accident,” she said.
Some teachers at Portland High sought to make the crash a learning experience. Students said it came up in health and history classes, and probably others.
Maine has had a law against distracted driving since 2009. The law specifically banning texting while driving passed last year and took effect Sept. 28.
State officials were unable to provide statistics Monday on how many citations have been issued under the new law.
The Bureau of Motor Vehicles said data on citations is usually compiled later in the year. McCausland said he did not know how many citations Maine State Police have issued.
South Portland police campaigned against cellphone use by drivers even before one of their officers was hospitalized in 2010 after being rear-ended, while stopped on the Casco Bay Bridge, by a driver who was talking on a cellphone.
They have issued seven citations for distracted driving and one for texting while driving since those laws took effect, Police Chief Ed Googins said.
Googins said officers have issued countless warnings after seeing bad driving that may have been related to electronic devices but feeling the connection would be difficult to prove.
“We know that alcohol kills people when people drive drunk. We also know that when people are distracted, even on their cellphone, and not paying attention to their driving, that also can kill people,” Googins said.
“(Saturday’s crash) is really a tragic reminder that driving requires all of your sense and your full attention.”
McCausland would not say why police believe Lowe was texting at the time of the accident.
He would not say whether the lone passenger to survive, Skaff, provided that information to police.
Police can check a cellphone’s log to determine when someone has been texting, and to whom.
Sometimes, a cellphone is found, still turned on, after a crash.
“There have been no charges filed but there will be,” McCausland said, after the district attorney reviews the case. “The bottom line is, there was drinking involved on the part of an 18-year-old driver who was texting.”
Under Maine law, drivers who are 21 or older are driving drunk if they have blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more. Drivers who are younger than 21 are not allowed to have any alcohol in their system.
Police also are investigating how the minors got the alcohol, McCausland said.
Jo Morrissey, coordinator of 21 Reasons, a nonprofit group that works to prevent drinking by minors, said it should come as no surprise that teenagers who were drinking made other poor choices.
“Kids already have pretty low judgment abilities. Drinking alcohol does not help them make sound judgment,” Morrissey said.
“Teens don’t have any realistic view of what actual consequences are. They’re just wired differently,” she said.
“They never think what happens bad to anybody can happen to them.”
Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at: dhench@pressherald.com
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