A first? Texting while driving leads to arrest
A Massachusetts man may be the first person in the state to be arrested for texting behind the wheel, which became illegal Jan. 1.
Lt. Gary Fisher said Stephen Judd, 20, of Dracut, Mass., was texting on his phone while traveling down Bridge Street on Monday morning, in plain sight of an officer. Officers later learned Judd was driving with a suspended license, he said.
A texting-while-driving violation wouldn't usually lead to an arrest, Fisher said, but police weren't going to let Judd drive away without a license.
"From what I understand, this was blatant. The officer observed it blatantly; the phone literally was at the steering wheel level," he said. "In New Hampshire you can be arrested for a violation. It's not our normal practice to arrest people for violation offenses of that nature, like speeding or driving without an inspection sticker."
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