Texting driver sentenced in 2007 death

Man gets 2 1/2 years for killing teenager

He talked of being a professional football star, but that dream ended 11 months ago when Earman Machado was killed by a man driving while texting on his cellphone in Taunton.

Yesterday, members of the 13-year-old's family saw a hint of justice when the man who was driving pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to motor vehicle homicide and leaving the scene of an accident with death resulting.

Craig P. Bigos of New Bedford was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in the county jail.

He must also serve three-years' probation after his release, and he lost his license for 10 years.

"We didn't get what we wanted. We were hoping for more than that. But he'll get his justice served at the end of the day," said Marvin Machado, Earman's 21-year-old brother.

Prosecutors had asked that Bigos, 32, serve three to five years in state prison. Bigos's lawyer, Daniel R. Igo, had recommended a one-year sentence for the Dec. 27, 2007, crash.

Judge Robert Kane said in a recent ruling that he was considering Bigos's 2003 conviction of leaving the scene of an accident and the Machado family's suffering over the last year in recommending the sentence.

But the victim's family wanted something more, Marvin Machado said.

"It's been rough the last 11 months that we've been waiting on the trial and going through our everyday lives not seeing him anymore," he said.

"It's hard not seeing him smile, being around acting like a little kid."

Igo was not available for comment yesterday.

Machado was riding his bicycle alongside a friend who was walking down a dark Poole Street in Taunton when he was struck by Bigos's car.

Bigos told police he was text messaging and thought he had hit a mailbox while on the way to his girlfriend's house. The next day, he heard of the police investigation and realized he had hit a person. He turned himself in to New Bedford police.

The case helped to raise awareness of the distractions cellphones can pose to drivers. A recent attempt to ban the use of hand-held cellphones while driving passed in the House but failed in the state Senate.

State Representative Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat and cochairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation, said he plans to reintroduce legislation in the next session. He said police issue 13,000 citations a year for distracted driving, and is baffled that current law allows the use of a cellphone.

"Why would we allow an exception for the thing we could argue is the biggest distraction?" he said.

"Just look at the prevalence of cellphones and the people using them while driving."

Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe.com.