A judge last month sentenced a 35-year-old woman to 4.5 years in prison after she was convicted of negligent homicide for a fatal collision caused by distracted driving, state law enforcement officials said.

It was the first time in Arizona Department of Public Safety history the driver of a passenger vehicle was convicted of negligent homicide for a fatal collision caused by distracted driving, according to a release posted earlier this month by DPS.
 
On the evening of Aug. 24, 2019, Amanda Schlief was driving south on State Route 101 in Peoria when she collided with the back of 25-year-old Clayton Trovillion’s motorcycle, causing him to be thrown from the motorcycle, DPS officials said.

Trovillion was taken to a hospital and died a week later.
 
“An investigation conducted by detectives from the AZDPS Vehicular Crimes Unit determined Schlief was actively engaged in a text conversation on her cell phone immediately prior to the crash,” authorities said in the release.

Schlief was indicted in 2021 and pled guilty to negligent homicide in June 2023.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge sentenced her to 4.5 years on Sept. 1.

 “Operating a motor vehicle is a serious responsibility,” said Lt. Col. Deston Coleman Jr., assistant director of the AZDPS Highway Patrol Division. “One moment of distraction can have life-or-death consequences.”

Learn more about Arizona's "Hands-Free" law (ARS 28-914): www.azleg.gov/ars/28/00914.htm