Texting Mom Heads to Court Following Minnetonka Accident

A woman charged with felony texting and driving in Minnetonka earlier this year made her first court appearance on Thursday, and was released with the condition that she doesn't contact the victim in the case. 

Amanda Elizabeth Manzanares, 20, was driving without insurance and under a restricted instructional permit when she drove her car across the centerline of Excelsior Boulevard in Minnetonka and struck a man riding a motorcycle, badly injuring him, Hennepin County attorneys say. Prosecutors claim the mother of two was reaching for her cell phone to read an incoming text message at the time of the accident. 

Manzanares was assigned a public attorney, Nancy Laskaris, on Thursday. Her next Hennepin County court date was set for June 28. 

The victim in this case, Barry Lawrence of Minnetonka, suffered injuries requiring more than $500,000 in surgeries and other medical care. After retrieving Manzanares' cell phone at the scene, Minnetonka police investigators found a series of text message exchanges and calls on Manzanares' phone that were made and received in the minutes surrounding the collision. 

In April, officials charged Manzanares with six counts in total, including a felony of "grossly negligent" operation of a vehicle. The other misdemeanor charges included use of a wireless communication device while driving and parental endangerment of a child. Both of Manzanares' children, now ages 2 and 4, were in the backseat of her car when the accident happened.

At a news conference earlier this year, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said prosecutors have “a pretty solid case" against Manzanares. Freeman also said he expects Manzanares to receive workhouse time if convicted.

In Minnesota, it is illegal for drivers to read, compose or send texts and emails or to access the Web on a wireless device while the vehicle is in motion or a part of traffic—including at a stoplight or while stuck in traffic.

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