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Truck Driver Ignores Warnings to Slow Down; Kills Four in Massive Crash

Semi-truck driver Josef Slezak of River Grove, Ill., was charged with four counts of manslaughter and four counts of vehicular homicide after he slammed into another car and set off a chain reaction that ultimately killed an entire family.

The collision occurred on Interstate 80 in Western Nebraska. Traffic was already at a standstill because of an earlier accident that killed semi driver Keith Johnson. According to an Associated Press report

[A witness] said Slezak’s truck did not appear to slow down before it struck the car. An accident reconstructionist who examined the scene concluded Slezak failed to slow down and exercise caution on the road.

Mr. Slezak slammed into a Ford Mustang being driven by Christopher Schmidt, whose car then collided with that of his wife, Diana, who was travelling with the couple’s two children, Connor, 2, and Samuel, 3. All four of the Schmidts died at the scene. An autopsy later revealed with Ms. Schmidt was 30 weeks pregnant, which resulted in a ninth count of vehicular homicide of an unborn child being filed against Mr. Slezak.

Mr. Slezak drove for AKI Trucking, which, according to a report on The Trucker, “has a Fatigued Driving (Hours of Service) BASIC score of 80.9 percent, which exceeds the threshold for intervention by 15.9 percent.”

The Law Offices of Frank Branson provides legal representation to victims of trucking and other commercial vehicle accidents. The Law Offices of Frank Branson is not involved in this case.

Whether the cause of the collision is driver fatigueimproper truck maintenance, and/or improper screening, training and supervision of drivers, the Dallas truck accident lawyers at The Law Offices of Frank L. Branson have the experience, resources and technical abilities to determine what happened and who should be held responsible.

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