March 16, 2006
SMS not responsible for Miss Deaf Texas death
"The reigning Miss Deaf Texas who was killed by a train was text messaging her parents - both of whom are hearing-impaired - as she walked near the tracks and might have been distracted, police said."
This Associated Press story has been picked up by every major newspaper with variants on the title "Text messaging had something to do with her death", (CNN) or "Miss Deaf Texas Text Messaging Near Tracks" (Forbes) and "Deaf beauty queen killed by train was texting" (MNSBC). And indeed it's a trajedy but the titles are misleading. I readily agree with Mike Masnick over at TechDirt, who writes that text messaging had nothing to do with this terrible accident, she should not have been walking close to the tracks.
According to a railroad spokesman, "this type of accident "underscores the danger of walking anywhere near railroad tracks - and contrary to what most people think, there are no vibrations on railroad tracks".
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