The shocking revelation that train engineer Robert Sanchez sent out a text message 22 seconds before the crash of a Metrolink train on Sept. 12, 2008 was reported in nearly every major news outlet and took the "texting while driving" issue to new levels in the public eye.
The official National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Advisory details the casualties in that accident as well as time and number of text messages sent by Roberto Sanchez, who also died in the crash. The NTSB continues to release updates on their investigation of the LA crash.
The question, one may ask, is what are the laws by state on texting by automobile drivers? The source to turn to for this information is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Fully eleven years ago the Institute issued an advisory that "Using a cellular phone could raise crash risk," which is still on their excellent resource page on cellphone use while driving. An updated breakdown of cellphone laws by jurisdiction (rev.: October 2008), also found on the same page, breaks down the highly complex state of cellphone and texting bans by jurisdiction. Some localities are allowed to ban cellphone use by state laws; others are specifically prohibited from doing so. Texting while driving is specifically prohibited in seven states (California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Washington) and the District of Columbia. Many states also have bans on texting while driving for younger drivers and school bus drivers.