Eight young people from Western New York have lost their lives in texting-and-driving

related accidents in the last three years, the latest a Geneseo State College student from

Sanborn who died in a one-vehicle accident early Tuesday.

Mary E. Kavanaugh, a 2006 Starpoint High School graduate, was driving alone, shortly after

1:30 a.m., when her car went out of control and rolled over, Livingston County sheriff&#8217s

officials said.

Yet even though texting while driving is banned in New York, a police officer can&#8217t

stop someone for that offense under state law.

Instead, it&#8217s considered a &#8220secondary&#8221 offense, meaning that a driver can be

ticketed only after having been stopped for a &#8220primary&#8221 offense, such as speeding or

going through a red light.

In Tuesday&#8217s accident, Kavanaugh, 22, was texting an acquaintance at the time of the

crash on Caledonia Road in the Town of Leicester, Livingston County sheriff&#8217s officials

believe.

&#8220According to our timetable, we believe she was texting while driving, so that will be

a contributing factor on the accident report,&#8221 Sheriff&#8217s Maj. James Szczesniak said

Thursday.

Because there were no witnesses and Kavanaugh, of Lower Mountain Road, was the sole

occupant, Szczesniak added that investigators could not say with &#8220absolute

certainty&#8221 that she was texting at the time of the crash.

But a check of Kavanaugh&#8217s cell phone determined that she sent a text message to an

acquaintance at 1:37 a.m. and never opened a return message sent to her at 1:38 a.m.,

sheriff&#8217s officials said.

&#8220You&#8217ve got a bright young woman here with a great future in front of her, and a

poor decision &#8212 texting while driving &#8212 turned into a tragedy,&#8221 Szczesniak

said.

Various counties, including Erie, have passed their own local laws that make texting while

driving a primary offense, empowering an officer to stop the driver. But such local laws have

been tough to enforce, and some police agencies may not be familiar with those laws.

That could change soon. In February, Gov. David A. Paterson proposed legislation that would

allow police to stop a motorist for texting while driving.

And Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was in Syracuse, kicking off a pilot

program in there aimed at curbing distracted driving. The crackdown has its own slogan:

&#8220Phone in one hand. Ticket in the other.&#8221

But for now, texting while driving isn&#8217t enough by itself for a police officer to stop

a vehicle, at least under New York State law.

That means that if a state trooper, sheriff&#8217s deputy or police officer is driving

alongside someone and can see that person texting, the officer can&#8217t stop that vehicle

for the offense.

&#8220It&#8217s the only secondary law that we know of,&#8221 State Police Traffic Safety

Officer Michael Swarthout said. &#8220New York doesn&#8217t typically pass secondary traffic

laws. I just don&#8217t understand why they made it so difficult for us to enforce.&#8221

The laws about texting, using a hand-held cell phone and dialing a phone are tricky.

Trooper Swarthout, of Troop A, and others would like to see a single law banning distracted

driving &#8212 for whatever reason.

&#8220I&#8217ve seen people eating a bowl of cereal while they drive,&#8221 he said.

Prior to Tuesday morning&#8217s accident, seven other Western New Yorkers died because of

texting and driving in the last three years.

In June 2007, five teenage girls, recent graduates of Fairport High School, died when their

sport utility vehicle veered into the path of a tractor-trailer in Canandaigua.

Six months later, A.J. Larson, 20, died in an accident that West Seneca police attributed

to texting while driving.

Brandie J. Conklin, 22, of Eden, died last April 12, when her car collided with an oncoming

milk truck on Route 75.

Following Tuesday&#8217s crash, investigators have determined that Kavanaugh&#8217s vehicle

drifted off the right side of the road, and she overcorrected, causing the car to roll over

and land on its side on the left shoulder.

Kavanaugh was not wearing a seat belt, and she was ejected from her vehicle, according to

police reports. Sheriff&#8217s officials said they are awaiting the results of toxicology

tests to determine whether alcohol may have been involved.

The crash wasn&#8217t discovered by a passing driver and reported to emergency workers

until 4:53 a.m. Tuesday. Investigators assume that no one else had driven past the crash site

on the lightly traveled rural road in the intervening three hours.

&#8220We are able to confirm that she would have died instantly after the crash,&#8221

Szczesniak said.