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Driver Who Killed Pedestrian Was Updating Facebook Status, Lawsuit Claims

by Amar Toor on February 16, 2011 at 10:15 AM

facebook loginA driver who killed a pedestrian late last year was allegedly updating her Facebook status behind the wheel, according to a lawsuit filed by the victim's family.

On December 7th, 70-year-old Raymond Veloz was driving around Chicago's South Side when he got in a minor accident. When Veloz got out of his car to inspect the damage and exchange information with the driver of the other car, a woman named Araceli Beas allegedly hit him with her vehicle. He was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Although Beas blamed the sun for blocking her vision, Veloz's family believes Facebook may have played a bigger role in the accident. According to the lawsuit, Beas updated her Facebook status from her cell phone at 7:54 a.m. -- the exact same time Veloz placed a call to 911. Veloz's daughter, Regina Cabrales, alleges that the woman irresponsibly drove "without keeping a proper and sufficient outlook," failed to slow down to avoid an accident, and drove while using an electronic device -- something that Illinois state law forbids.

Tags: accident, araceli beas, AraceliBeas, cellphones, death, Driving, facebook, illinois, lawsuit, pedestrian, Raymond Domenech, RaymondDomenech, safety, SocialNetworking, top

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