New Details in Case of Local Mom Charged with Felony Texting and Driving

Minnetonka Patch has obtained more information in the case of a local woman charged earlier this month with felony texting and driving.

Hennepin County prosecutors allege that on Oct. 7, 2010, 20-year-old Amanda Elizabeth Manzanares hit and badly injured a motorcyclist in Minnetonka. Manzanares reportedly told police immediately after the crash that she hadn't been talking or texting on her cell phone just before the crash. But investigators were able to retrieve a series of text message exchanges and calls on Manzanares' phone that, prosecutors say, were made and received in the minutes before the collision.

Among the texts sent from the phone, according to the official Minnetonka Police report, are the phrases "Hey im running a little Behind" and "Dropping off marv then back To take the kids to daycare So maybe (arriving by) 845ish hopefully."

Minnetonka Police received the initial 911 call that reported the accident at 8:03 a.m., less than five minutes after the last text message was received on Manzanares’ phone. (To read more of the text messages obtained by police, see the PDF document in the sidebar of this article).

That motorcyclist, Minnetonka resident Barry Lawrence, 65, suffered severe injuries that included six broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and a severe foot laceration that has required numerous surgeries. To-date, Lawrence’s medical bills from the accident hover around a half-million dollars.

Immediately after the accident, Minnetonka Police held Manzanares' phone as evidence. A search warrant reviewed and signed by Hennepin County District Court Judge Patricia Belois allowed those text messages to become evidence. In Minnesota, it is illegal for drivers to read, compose or send texts and emails or to access the Web on a wireless device while the vehicle is in motion or a part of traffic—including at a stoplight or while stuck in traffic.

Officials have charged Manzanares with six counts in total, including a felony of "grossly negligent" operation of a vehicle. The other misdemeanor charges include use of a wireless communication device while driving and parental endangerment of a child. Both of Manzanares' children, now ages 2 and 4, were in the backseat of her car when the accident happened.

Freeman expects Manzanares, if convicted, to receive workhouse time. She will make her first court appearance June 6. A call to Manzanares' home for comment has not been returned. 

While prosecuting someone for felony texting and driving, as in this case, is not a first in Minnesota, Freeman said he wanted to bring this Minnetonka accident to light because he is concerned about the rise in numbers of distracted drivers statewide.

According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, driver distraction accounts for roughly 20 percent of all crashes annually in Minnesota.