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PROVO — Police in Provo flooded the streets Wednesday afternoon to crackdown on people involved in texting while driving.
In just two hours, Provo Police officers gave out four citations and three warnings. Officers said they were trying to raise awareness that looking down, even for a moment, can result in someone's death. Just last week, [a distracted driver hit and killed a woman in a crosswalk in Provo.](
Officer Mike Luthy patroled the streets of Provo Wednesday, and pulled over a woman who appeared to be texting. She told Luthy that she was just changing the song on her iPhone.
"It looks like you were texting, but you were still manipulating a handheld device and you can't do that," Luthy said.
Luthy trailed another driver who appeared to be texting while driving for nearly three blocks on University Avenue. According to Utah law, whether you are texting, responding to an email, visiting social media or even changing the song on your phone, it is still against the law.
"There is one goal and it is to teach people to drive safely," said Lt. Mathew Siufanua.
Provo police decided to specifically target distracted drivers after a terrible accident on Jan. 15. A man driving early in the morning hit Rosa Merino in a crosswalk. Police said the driver was not texting, but looked down for a moment and never saw the single mother of three. Merino later died of her injuries.
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Elsa Vara is mourning the death of Rosa Merino. The two have been like sisters for years, she said."You have three young girls now who have no parents to take care of them," Siufanua said. "They have no relatives all because an individual wasn't paying attention."
While it is not illegal to talk on the phone, police cautioned everyone to keep their focus on the road — not on their phone conversation.
"If you hurt and kill somebody, there's still penalties," Siufanua said. "I mean the consequences can be grave for you and the individuals you might hurt."
It's a Class C misdemeanor to text while driving, and if an individual has a prior offense or causes an accident, the citations and fines become more serious.
Police are waiting for prosecutors to screen the evidence in last week's fatal accident to decide if charges will be filed.
