The truck driver, who tested positive for marijuana and cocaine. According to his log books, the truck driver had not taken off enough time from driving before the accident occurred. The truck driver who struck and injured the state trooper during a traffic stop was sentenced by a Minnesota judge to nine months in jail last week, the St. Cloud Times reports.
At last week’s sentencing, the state trooper who was seriously and permanently injured as a result of the truck drivers gross negligence, urged the District Court to sentence the truck driver to the maximum time allowed for a felony charge of vehicular injury and driving under the influence — a year and a day. “He was driving a loaded gun down the highway, an 80,000-pound gun that he had loaded,” the prosecutor told the court. The court sentenced the truck driver to nine months — the amount of time the trooper was out of work because of his injuries plus an extra 90 days.
The crash occurred on June 5, 2007. when made a traffic stop on Interstate 94 for a possible illegal window tint. He heard the semi trailer barreling toward him as he inspected the vehicle. Unable to get out of the way, he was struck by the truck. The state tropper spent three days in the hospital and had a steel support rod inserted into his leg.
Accident reconstruction revealed that the trooper would have been visible to the truck driver about a half mile before the crash. The road conditions and driver visibility that day were also good. After the accident the truck driver admitted he had fallen asleep. The driver pleaded guilty to the charges.
As this case shows, sleepy drivers using illegal drugs continue to be hazard for the driving public. The trooper who nearly lost his life got it right when he called the 80,000 pound truck a “loaded gun.” This case also underscores the importance of reconstructing the accident very soon after the crash in order to accurately assess responsibility.
