LACONIA — A Massachusetts man who was using his cell phone while driving on Interstate 93 has been incarcerated after pleading guilty that he caused a crash which seriously injured another man.
Daniel Muniz, 29, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in Belknap Superior Court on Tuesday to a charge of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon.
Judge Gillian Abramson sentenced Muniz to 12 months in the Belknap County House of Correction, with six months suspended on condition of two years good behavior. She also ordered Muniz to write a publishable letter about the dangers of texting and cellphone use while driving. In addition, Muniz’s license was ordered revoked for four years.
According to the indictment, Muniz was driving his vehicle on I-93 in New Hampton on May 19, 2017, when he drove into the breakdown lane and struck another vehicle, while using his cellphone.
Assistant Belknap County Attorney Keith Cormier told the court that the driver of the other car, Daniel Rodriguez, had pulled off into the breakdown lane and had gotten out of the vehicle to fix his bike rack when Muniz’s vehicle struck him. The crash occurred during the daytime, Cormier said.
According to court documents, Rodriguez suffered “serious, life-threatening injuries,” and had to have his left leg amputated as a result.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.