Driver jailed for 55 months for fatal text while driving
(CNS): Jordan Telford (40) was handed a prison term of four years and five months on Friday after killing Shemiah Grant on North West Point Road in May 2021. Telford admitted to causing Grant’s death due to dangerous driving, as he was texting while navigating a bend. Telford swerved across the centre line and smashed into Grant, who was travelling in the opposite direction on a motorcycle.
As she handed down the relatively lengthy term, Justice Cheryll Richards noted a number of aggravating factors in the case, including Telford’s failure to look out for vulnerable road users.
She also noted that just 16 days before Telford caused this fatal collision, he had been fined for using his mobile phone behind the wheel. Phone records for that night show that he was messaging on his phone throughout the day while driving, and he already has more than a dozen other traffic offences and tickets.
In addition, Telford was driving without insurance. However, although he had been drinking at Maccabucca before the crash, a breathalyser test found that his alcohol levels were below the legal limit at that time.
As she delivered her ruling, Justice Richards spoke of the significant impact on Grant’s family, both emotionally and economically, as he was the father of two children and the family breadwinner.
She also noted some of the challenges that Telford is dealing with and ordered that he be provided with counselling while he serves his time.
Boy is a LOSER and because he was uninsured he has no financial responsibility to the victim’s family?
Cayman needs to change the Law when it comes to causing death behind the wheel of a vehicle. Manslaughter is manslaughter, and it should not be different because it was done in a vehicle.
Penalties need to be harsher, then maybe people won’t be jokers.
RIP Mr. Grant.
throw away the keys!
Completely disproportional and terrible punitive against this man.
A travesty of Justice.
He should get life in prison. Who texts whilst driving? Completely unacceptable.
If the a Cayman Islands had proper sidewalks these types of deaths would be very rare.
If anything the government should be held to account financially to those who have lost persons walking along these roads.
Where in the world besides 3rd world countries do people walk along the shoulder of main throughfares.
*pavements
He hit a man on a motorcycle in the other lane. But go on about sidewalks being relevant to this event.
Thanks for all the speed bumps Telford.
I knew Jordan as a child. A mean bully who’s behavior was out of control. He never had to face any real discipline or consequences for his actions. Karma is a bitch but the real obscenity here is a man is dead and Jordan will be out of jail before too long.
Completely disagree! I have also known Telford since childhood and I completely disagree with your views of his character and nature. He is one of the most caring individuals that I’ve ever met. I am sure he is extremely remorseful.
I also knew Jordan as a child/ teenager and he is far from a bully. In fact his actions show that he is remorseful and took ownership. He will have to live with the fact that he killed someone for the rest of his life. I’m sure that will be a daily struggle.
Sounds like a lifetime driving ban needs to be issued after he gets out. But no he’ll probably mow down and or kill another.
Florida law passed in 2019 made distracted driving a primary offense.
Florida man convicted in deadly distracted driving crash that killed child sentenced to 30 years https://www.fox13news.com/news/florida-man-convicted-in-deadly-distracted-driving-crash-that-killed-child-and-led-to-new-laws-to-be-sentenced
I see people texting and driving every day in Cayman. It contributes to slowing the traffic down too, makes the tailbacks worse.
Almost hit head on by a lady in a luxury SUV looking down at her phone on Church St. in midday recently.
Distracted drivers are as dangerous as drunk drivers and are much more prevalent.
Stay alert!
Every traffic light the phones are out, and 5 or 6 Mississippi counts to get underway when green. Folks are not as talented as they think they are. This is a lesson for everyone on how badly it can go.
People
He had no intent of hurting anyone let alone causing their death.
I think even a simple person would be able to differentiate between pointing and shooting a gun at someone and becoming distracted and causing death by dangerous driving.
I know this does not bring this person back to their family which I can’t imagine and sorry for your loss.
However locking up an otherwise good person for the rest of their life doesn’t either.
The law does not nor should it take into consideration personal feelings.
Perhaps goes to show that we as a whole are terrible at evaluating risk, estimating our own abilities, or some combination of the two. Vehicles, which weigh literal tons, traveling at however many miles per hour, have a figurative shitton of kinetic energy.
It’s clear we all discount the potentiality of disaster related to the above when we don’t pay the fullest attention to operating and directing that kinetic energy. While I agree with you that there was no ill-intent by the driver, I also think he acted with gross disrespect for the potential consequences of the action he was undertaking. (And by the Court’s findings, had done so fairly frequently.)
This is probably an appropriate sentencing, mainly because as you note there is no way to bring the victim back and further punishment is unlikely to deter others from driving in a similarly negligent manner.
we know all that hence he is not facing 10-15 years in prison.
this guy will be out in two years…so save me the crocodile tears…
he acted with a disregard for human life while engaging in reckless behavior, not once, not twice, many times.
read paragraph 3 and 4
Distracted driving kills just like drunk driving. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
He deserves more time.
He choice to be distracted, knowing the risks.
Texting and driving is like closing your eyes for 5-10 secs while driving.
Would you let someone how gets temporary blindness, black outs or has narcolypse drive?
Friend, a moving vehicle weighing 3,000 lbs is as deadly a weapon as a gun . Telford turned his vehicle into a deadly weapon, get it?
55 months with 7 years without a license seems like a pretty rough sentencing. He pleaded guilty, called 911, and was under the legal limit.
texting while driving is a serious crime. He was already ticked a week before and did not stop. this is a great outcome. the drivers on our island are so bad, I fear for my family and friends.
The Cayman court system must take the blame for this and other deaths caused by criminals who, even though they have a long record of crimes, are released to the community to await justice years after their offenses instead of being in custody, not able to continue harming others while awaiting trial and sentencing.
21 years for shooting someone and 55 months for Killing someone??
And he will probably be out texting again in less time than it takes to take a short vacation !
One is intentional one is an accident, albeit one caused by negligence.
it wasn’t an accident
criminally negligent homicide is an act of criminal negligence resulting in the death of another person
vehicular homicide
Yes. One involved an illegal weapon that’s designed to kill, used by someone with previous convictions, in a way that was thoroughly avoidable. Gun is still not found. Victim lived, but with life changing injuries.
The other one is unintentional, and doing something most people will have done at some point but were lucky enough not to hit someone and kill them.
They really don’t compare. Feel free to look at many other sentences handed down the world over.
unintentional….nice try….read paragraph 3 and 4 of the article
The baby mama has entered the chat.
A slap on the wrist for taking a life. Unbelievable! RIP Mr Grant. Hope Mr Telford learnt his lesson.
I am in no way condoning anything, but. People do don’t seem to realize that four years is somewhat a long time. Imagine being uncomfortable for four years. It might seem like a little but when you take certain things into consideration it will be a long time, long enough to think about what you did and hopefully learn a lesson and better yourself as a person.
Rubbish! How many times he did this before, no insurance and now killed a young man, think about that and doesn’t need 55 months to ‘think’, obviously does not care, only remorseful because he killed and caught!
Think about the victim’s 3 children having to grow up with no father! And no insurance to provide any financial resources to help with their upbringing! He actually got a light sentence considering the consequences to the innocent victim and his family.
hope a lesson has been learnt.
Not a hard enough lesson. Not enough time for taking a life.
I tell you what…..
With that logic let me ask you a couple questions, I am not disagreeing just a question.
Should someone be locked up longer for possessing a firearm without a license that is never on their person and intended only for self defense and protection of their family and property?
or for driving drunk (DUI)?
Which one is more dangerous?
Or is it which one is more socially acceptable?
It’s supposed to be a lesson for everyone.