Driver who admits checking Facebook when she hit a man charged with vehicular homicide

TACOMA, Wash. — A distracted driver who police said hit and killed a man changing his tire on Interstate 5 is now charged with vehicular homicide.

Police said Karley Cecil, 29, admitted she was checking Facebook on her phone when her car struck Kyang Park, 78.

“I know she’s dying inside right now. I know she feels so bad,” said her sister, Dominic Wilson.

Troopers from the Washington State Patrol said Monday morning, Cecil was driving in the right lane of northbound I-5 in Tacoma when her car struck Park.

“I’m so sorry for his family. I pray for his family every nigh. I hope they forgive my family,” said Cory Watson, Cecil’s boyfriend.

Court papers said Cecil pulled over right after the crash and called 911.

She has no criminal record.

The judge released her from jail pending trial.

“I’d ask the public to give her the benefit of the doubt. This could happen to anybody,” said defense attorney Bryan Hershman.

In the courthouse, the judge, Cecil’s attorney and her family all gave the same message: Put down your phone and drive.

“It’s not worth it. No text is worth it, and we know she knows that now,” her best friend Nicole Morris said.

Cox Media Group