Jury gets Haverhill texting while driving case

HAVERHILL, Mass. (WHDH) -- A teen, charged with vehicular homicide for allegedly texting before a deadly head-on crash, took the stand in his own defense Tuesday.

There were tears in the courtroom and now there is anxiety as both sides in the case wait for a verdict.

The prosecution told jurors during closing arguments that Aaron Deveau’s phone records show he was texting and driving.

“He took his eyes off the road long enough so that his car crossed the center yellow, his whole car, all of it,” said prosecutor Ashlee Logan.

The appeal for jurors to use their instincts came just after the 18 year old took the stand. Deveau told jurors thinking about homework, not texting, is what distracted him when he swerved into the path of an oncoming car, killing 55-year-old Donald Bowley and injuring his girlfriend.

Deveau testified that he put his cell phone on the car seat and didn’t pick it up again until after the accident when he called his parents.

The defense told jurors the prosecution is trying to distract them by saying Deveau texted 193 times that day and said it took a lot of guts for the teen to take the stand.

The victim’s sister and family thanked everyone who helped her brother up until the time of his death. They said they hope the landmark trial will help change the way people drive.

“It’s been extremely difficult. Losing someone you love is not easy, seeing him in the condition he was in, it’s not easy. And I just hope that no one else has to experience the pain and anguish that we have gone through,” said Donna Burleigh, the victim’s sister.

The jury began deliberated for about three hours Tuesday. Before they went home they asked the judge to define negligent motor vehicle homicide.

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