A Deadly Wandering

A Deadly Wandering is a 2014 nonfiction book by Matt Richtel, a journalist at The New York Times. After winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for a series of articles detailing the dangers of distracted driving, Richtel expanded his research and reporting into A Deadly Wandering. This nonfiction book combines the story of a 2006 Utah car accident—in which Mormon teenager Reggie Shaw killed two scientists, James Furfaro and Keith O’Dell, while texting and driving—and the science of attention and distraction. The tragedy became a rallying cry for bringing public awareness to the dangers of texting while driving. Before 2006, only a handful of states had some kind of texting-and-driving laws on the books; whereas now, 47 states ban it to some degree.

Summary

The narrative portion of the book describes the effects of distracted driving. In 2006, Reggie Shaw is sent home from his Mormon mission because he confesses to having had premarital sex with his girlfriend. He gets a painting job in Utah. The car accident happens when he is driving to work on a mountainous road—he drifts over the double yellow line dividing traffic and clips a car carrying two rocket scientists.