Mum Loses Control While Chatting On Facebook Behind The Wheel, Crash Kills Daughter, 2 Nieces
A Wisconsin mom has been charged with three counts of homicide after allegedly causing a car crash that killed her daughter and two young nieces.
Kari J. Milberg, 34, faces three counts of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and one count of reckless driving after police say she was active on Facebook while behind the wheel. Cellphone records show that Milberg was sending and receiving Facebook messages until two minutes before the crash, said Pierce County investigators.
Police believe distracted driving was a significant contributing factor in the incident.
Milbergās SUV spun out of control and slid into the path of an oncoming truck on Dec. 12, 2013. Her 11-year-old daughter, Lydia, died at the scene, while her 5-year-old nieces died at area hospitals. Milberg and her 3-year-old son, Easton, survived.
The drivĀer of the truck, Jose Mendoza, 24, of Rockford, Ill., was not inĀjured, nor were his two pasĀsenĀgers.
Milberg, who investigators found wasnāt wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the car and thrown 21 feet over the rail and down an embankment. Her daughter, fastened in the front passenger seat, was killed on impact.
Milberg, of Centuria, Wis., was transported to Regions Hospital in critical condition, where she later emerged from a coma. Police found prescription oxycodone in her purse; a blood report later showed that Milberg had therapeutic levels of oxycodone and a sedative known as midazolam in her system at the time of the crash.
Two cellphones were found in the totaled vehicle, but a third was recovered at the scene after snow melted nearly four months later. Records showed that the undamaged iPhone, which belonged to Milberg, had a Facebook chat session in progress from 3:32 p.m. to 3:39 p.m. ā just two minutes before the crash.
In a collision analysis and reconstruction report, the Wisconsin State Patrol found driver inattention to be a large contributing factor.
āDriver distraction may explain why Milberg deviated from her southbound lane of travel to the outside shoulder before losing control,ā according to the report.
The State Patrol also noted that the tires on Milbergās SUV were badly worn and unable to channel moisture that may have been present on the road.
Source: startribune
This is so pathetic
So pathetic. It’s a pity people allow social media have d better of them. This days I see alot of people driving and handling their phones @ the same time and I wonder if the phones can’t wait for when they halt
Social media obsession, and her daughter had to pay.
Oh no so sad!!! Her kids, and nieces ??? She wouldn’t be able to live with herself
OMG. So sad.
OMG May their souls RIP!Why would one b driving n chatting?
Ended dos kids lives like dat,God have mercy on her
Waoh!
See what negligence has caused.Poor children.
Oh my God this is negligence in d highest order
A very stupid woman
Rip facebook madness has done it again
Sad story. She should be jailed. Na wa for Facebook o
Sad story..RIP
Gosh. So bad n pathetic
So sad, it’s a pity that those children are dead…… God have mercy
So sad. People should learn not to be distracted while driving. Couldn’t she wait until she gets to her destination ? Or she would have just packed and continue when she’s done. This is pure negligence
Toooooo bad dat it took d lives of 3 innocent. Children
OMG!!!! Texting while driving is a no no, people please stop.
Omg!
This is so pathetic…
so sad
Hope people would learn that texting and driving kills
She has learnt her lessons the hard way.She will never be able to forgive herself