Teenager who killed gran because she was texting while driving is jailed for three and a half years

Teenager Rachel Gannon will spend 3.5 years in prison after causing a fatal car crash while texting two years ago

As she was just 16 at the time, the judge suspended her sentence and placed her on parole

However Gannon faces jail time for repeatedly violating probation conditions

A teenage girl who caused a fatal car crash while texting two years ago was today sentenced to three and a half years prison after repeatedly violating her parole.



Rachel N. Gannon, from Kansas City, was sending text messages, looking at her phone and listening to loud music when she lost control of her car in September 2011 and collided with another vehicle.



The driver, 72-year-old great-grandmother Loretta Larimer, died from her injuries.



While a judge initially put Gannon on parole, it was revoked in court today because she violated the conditions for at least a second time.



Repeat offender: Rachel Gannon has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for repeatedly violating her probation following a fatal car crash two years ago

A 72-year-old great grandmother died when her car collided with Rachel Gannon's, left, who was texting while was driving

Gannon was 16-years-old when she borrowed a neighbor's Honda Pilot and drove north on NW Skyview Road near Interstate 435 in Kansas City on September 11, 2011.



Gannon told police she had been looking at her cell phone and texting before running off the road.



But when Gannon swerved back onto the road, she struck a car driven by Larimer which was heading in the opposite direction.



Larimer had to be cut out of the Nissan Altima and was rushed to hospital where she was pronounced dead.



Her 10-year-old grand daughter sitting in the back seat was suffered a chipped arm bone, an injured neck and numerous bruises, but survived the crash.



On May 31, 2012, Gannon pleaded guilty to second-degree involuntary manslaughter, third-degree assault and violating the 2009 Missouri law that prohibits motorists 21 or younger from texting while driving.

Victim: Loretta Larimer, 72, pictured, was killed when Gannon crashed into her car

While Loretta Larimer, 72, (pictured) died in the crash, her 10-year-old granddaughter sitting in the back seat was lucky to survive

The circuit court judge suspended Gannon’s sentence and placed her on five years’ probation, according to Kansas City Star. She was ordered to serve 48 hours of 'shock time' in the county jail, find a job, serve 72 days of house arrest and perform 300 hours of community service.

But within a month she violated her probation after she moved out of her parents’ home and into a residence with her boyfriend, quit her job and got drunk at a party, according to KCTV5.com.



In September, she was sentenced to one year in jail but allowed to go to school, to attend a tutoring program and report back to jail no later than 30 minutes after.

But she allegedly skipped 31 of the scheduled tutorials and was recently seen hanging out at a Dairy Queen instead of attending a class.



Punished enough: The victim's son John Larimer said Rachel Gannon, 16, didn't deserve to go to prison for killing his mother

J udge Abe Shafer today revoked her probation.

The young girl's relatives, including her mother Becky Tweeddale, had been pushing for a lenient sentence and cried in court today as Judge Abe Shafer announced his ruling.

'This is devastating,' she told Kansas City Star.



'It wasn’t what I had hoped for.… We want her home.'



KCTV5.com reported Gannon's defense attorneys said she was just being a typical teen, while her mother testified Gannon 's grade average improved from F to A.



John Larimer, whose mother died in the wreck, didn't support the decision.



He believes the judge was too tough on the teen.

'This is a sad and tragic day,' he said.

'Here’s a young life that is damaged further. What was Judge (Abe) Shafer going to do? Rachel put him in a position where he had no room to work with.'







