Alabama Trucker Arrested for 3 Deaths in Cell Phone-related Highway Crash
Authorities recently arrested an Alabama truck driver who allegedly caused a fatal multi-vehicle pileup in Missouri almost ten months ago. The highway crash, which caused three deaths and more than a dozen injuries, was the result of a seemingly simple distraction from a ringing cell phone. The regrettable thing is that the Muscle Shoals resident reportedly had a clean driving record. Yet his actions have irreversibly altered the lives of many victims and their families.
As a Birmingham Personal Injury Attorney, I have encountered many stories just like this one. This case shows how many individuals can be affected by the actions of just one person, and why it is important to retain the services of a qualified legal professional to represent your interests. The plaintiffs are just now preparing themselves to face the ordeal all over again in a court of law, nearly a year after the actual incident.
What happened that mid-July afternoon was a disaster in the making. According to reports, Jeffrey R. Knight, 49, was driving a 2005 Freightliner loaded with scrap aluminum. By his own admission, Knight told investigators that he had been distracted by a cell phone.
A highway patrol report quotes Knight as saying, "I reached across the dash to get my cell phone. I flipped the phone open, looked back at traffic, and I was there right at the last car (in the line of cars stuck in traffic). I didn't see any brake lights or emergency flashers. After I hit the first car, I just remember holding the steering wheel and seeing cars going to my left and right."
The aftermath told the story. The truck ran into, and over, a line of 10 vehicles that had backed up on eastbound Highway 40 (Interstate 64) just west of Interstate 270. Three people died and 15 were injured.
Two of those killed were Amish from northeastern Missouri who were headed to a funeral in Tennessee with a hired driver. Lydia Miller, 55, died the day of the crash, and Alvin Mast, 88, died two days later. Charles "Keith" Cason, a 55-year-old copier salesman on a business trip, was in the first vehicle to be rear-ended by the truck. He died immediately, according to authorities.
Knight, who until that day had a clean driving record, was charged April 8 with three counts of second-degree involuntary manslaughter, which alleges that the deaths resulted from "criminal negligence." According to authorities, each count is punishable by up to four years in prison.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an automobile accident, the legal professionals at Eversole Law are ready to help you.
Alabama trucker, distracted by cell phone, charged with crash that killed 3 here, STLToday, April 15, 2009
Investigation continues six months after deadly pileup, STLToday.com, January 13, 2009
