Champaign Teen Gets $1,075 Fine for Fatal Pedestrian Accident

July 25, 2010 - The driver who hit and killed an 84-year-old man in May will serve no time in jail, even though he admitted that he had been distracted by text messages while driving. According to reports at the Chicago Tribune, the 19-year-old Champaign resident was fined $1,075 after pleading guilty to texting while driving and failure to reduce speed.

The charges stem from a fatal pedestrian accident on May 16. The 19-year-old was driving on West Main Street in downtown Urbana when he hit an 84-year-old Chicago resident who was crossing the street. The victim was not in a crosswalk at the time of the accident. The driver admitted in court that he was distracted because he was sending text messages on his cell phone. The victim died 2 days later at Carle Foundation Hospital, according to The News-Gazette.

While the 19-year-old's fine totals $1,075, only $75 of that total is related to the texting-while-driving charge. The bulk of the fine, $1,000, comes from the charge of failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.