A Deadly Wandering

A Deadly Wandering is a 2014 nonfiction book by Matt Richtel, a journalist at The New York Times. After winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for a series of articles detailing the dangers of distracted driving, Richtel expanded his research and reporting into A Deadly Wandering. This nonfiction book combines the story of a 2006 Utah car accident—in which Mormon teenager Reggie Shaw killed two scientists, James Furfaro and Keith O’Dell, while texting and driving—and the science of attention and distraction. The tragedy became a rallying cry for bringing public awareness to the dangers of texting while driving. Before 2006, only a handful of states had some kind of texting-and-driving laws on the books; whereas now, 47 states ban it to some degree.

Summary

The narrative portion of the book describes the effects of distracted driving. In 2006, Reggie Shaw is sent home from his Mormon mission because he confesses to having had premarital sex with his girlfriend. He gets a painting job in Utah. The car accident happens when he is driving to work on a mountainous road—he drifts over the double yellow line dividing traffic and clips a car carrying two rocket scientists. The scientists’ car spins and slams into another car, killing the two men on impact. One state trooper on the scene, Bart Rindlisbacher, suspects Reggie of texting and driving.

Terryl Warner—a victims’ advocate who had a tough childhood involving an alcoholic father and disengaged mother—gets involved in Reggie’s case on behalf of Jackie Furfaro and Leila O’Dell, the wives of the rocket scientists. Meanwhile Rindlisbacher and several other investigators subpoena Reggie’s phone records and discover that he may have indeed been texting at the time of the accident. Reggie hires a lawyer, while Terryl encourages the county to bring charges against Reggie. Dealing with grief and guilt, Reggie withdraws emotionally. Meanwhile Leila and Jackie deal with their husbands’ deaths in their own ways.

When Reggie is training for his second attempt to complete a Mormon mission, he is called back to face charges of negligent homicide. A vicious legal battle ensues, between Reggie, his family, and their lawyer, Jon Bunderson, on one side, and county prosecutor Don Linton, the O’Dells, Furfaros, and Terryl on the other. Finally, hearing testimony from a researcher, Reggie admits to himself that he was texting during the accident and was thus responsible for the deaths of the two men. He tells his story in a state committee hearing, and a law outlawing texting and driving passes. Reggie agrees to a plea deal: He will serve 30 days of jail time and be required to tell his story to educate the public. Reggie devotes himself to his campaign, speaking to high school students and professional athletes, telling his story, and warning them against making the same mistake he did. His efforts change the minds of many people involved in the case about how remorseful he is.

The book’s other chapters present the science of attention and the ways in which technology preys upon our bottom-up and top-down attention systems. Researchers warn that the rapid advancement of technology and the addicting nature of communications could lead to undesirable consequences, such as an increase in traffic accident fatalities.