That certainly drives the message home, wow. I found this chart for texting fines state by state, I don't know how accurate it is though. Seems like our fines here in California are much higher than $20.00 for first offense. $10,000.00 in Alaska...
Chances are he was distracted while driving but it's not uncommon for a person to experience a medical emergency while driving such as heart failure, diabetic shock, epileptic seizure, etc.. What ever the case may be I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.