FORT DODGE, IA – In the wake of a fatal auto accident that took the lives of two people, the man who caused the carnage by texting as he drove got a sentence of probation.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, on Friday, May 8, 2015 at about 8:45 AM, a Ford F250 driven by 21-year-old Colten Bills of Dayton, Iowa failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 175 and Samson Avenue, just southeast of Dayton in Webster county. His truck then struck a 2001 Ford Taurus driven by 56-year-old David Castenson of Harcourt, Iowa. His mother, 85-year-old Velma Castenson of Dayton, was a passenger. Both were killed as a result the collision and Bills was injured.
The Fort Dodge Messenger reports that Bills was sentenced by Judge Kurt Wilke to probation after an earlier conviction on two counts of felony C homicide by vehicle by reckless driving. It was found during his trial that Bills was texting while he drove, causing the accident. Earlier that year, Bills was arrested for drunk driving, but the charge was dismissed.
