Driver convicted of killing teacher back in court

VANCOUVER, Wash. — A Washington man convicted of the state’s first vehicular homicide due to text messaging once again faces charges in connection with his driving.

Antonio Cellestine was released from prison after a 2010 sentence for killing his former teacher, Gordon Patterson. Patterson was pedaling home from school in 2009 and Cellestine was texting his girlfriend when Cellestine struck Patterson and fled the scene.

The incident enraged cycling communities on both sides of the Columbia River.

The Columbian reports Cellestine had been out of prison for two months when Washington State Police say he tried to elude them on Wednesday after a trooper attempted to stop him for cutting in front of a tractor-trailer.

Cellestine’s license is suspended. His mother said she occasionally allowed him to use her car.

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Information from: The Columbian, http://www.columbian.com

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