Trial set for Keith Furne, a Cedar Rapids man charged in crash that killed two teens

Background

In February. a Cedar Rapids man was charged with vehicular homicide for crashing into a stopped car on County Home Road last November, killing two teens and injuring three others.

The criminal complaint showed Keith Furne, 35, was texting when he crashed into the back of a Chevrolet Aveo, driven by Jennifer Perez, of Belle Plaine, who was stopped on County Home Road on Nov. 3, 2016, waiting to turn left onto North Troy Road. Her children, Selena Apodaca, 16; Elysia Severson, 14; Isabella Severson, 13; and a 4-year-old were all passengers.

The crash killed Selena and Isabella, and seriously injured Perez, Elysia and the 4-year-old.

Furne, who was driving a Chevrolet Silverado pickup, wasn't injured.

What's happened since

Furne was charged in February with two counts of homicide by vehicle and one count of reckless driving resulting in serious injury. In March, he pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail pending trial.

A criminal complaint shows Furne admitted to investigators he was texting before he hit Perez's car. Search warrants were obtained for the crash data retrieval box on Furne's truck, along with his cellphone, according to the complaint.

The data box showed Furne was going 60 mph for 2.5 seconds before hitting the Aveo and didn't brake before the impact, the complaint said.

Data retrieved from Furne's cellphone showed he had been sending and receiving a series of text messages before the crash, the complaint shows. He was drafting another text when the crash occurred.

Texting while driving will be a primary offense beginning July 1, giving officers more authority to pull over offending drivers. A separate provision provides that texting while driving is evidence of reckless driving in a fatal crash.

If Furne is convicted on all charges, he faces up to 10 years in prison on the homicide by vehicle charges and up to five years on the reckless driving charge. 

Furne's trial is set for Oct. 2 in Linn County District Court.

l Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com