Big Rig Trucker Convicted on Felony Charges After Fatal Accident

On Behalf of | Nov 1, 2012 | Fatigued Driving, Truck Accidents |

He’ll get 25 years behind bars for an accident last year that claimed the life of a mother of two children. On his way back from a long run and tired, the trucker was behind the wheel beyond the maximum number of hours allowed under the hours-of-service rules, which are meant to prevent driving while sleepy, among other things.

The trucker had also taken painkillers to boot.

At some point, he must have drifted off. His 18-wheeler crossed the center line and crashed into oncoming traffic, not only killing the mother, but injuring a 5-year-old boy in a second vehicle.

The boy’s mother says that the scars on her son’s face remind her of the accident every day. “There’s not a single day that goes by that the survivor guilt doesn’t consume me,” she said, as quoted in the WCTV report. The boy’s mother was also a friend of the mother who was killed.

As for the truck driver, not only was he recently sentenced to the maximum jail time allowed under law, but his commercial driver’s license was permanently revoked, which seems fitting due to the fact that authorities found evidence of marijuana, methamphetamine and prescription painkillers.

Source: Truck Driver Sentenced in Deadly DUI Crash