The truck driver whose big rig smashed into a pickup truck in Cartersville GA in 2015 and took the life of a wife and mother has been sentenced for his role in the tragedy. He received 30 years in prison, and will actually serve 10 of them. 

The truck driver on Oct. 5 entered a guilty plea on charges of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of reckless conduct and two counts of cruelty to children in the second degree.

The driver was responsible for the 18 wheeler that landed on top of a Toyota pickuup truck on Aug. 13, 2015 on US 41 in Emerson GA. The wreck killed a 31 year old woman and seriously injured her husband and two children. The truck driver was arrested and charged with DUI at the scene. The sentence he received did not mention the DUI.

The driver will get time served dating back to his arrest, and must pay restitution of $7373 for funeral expenses.

The wreck occurred as the truck driver was doing a pre-trip inspection of his rig in a parking lot of Zep Industries. He forgot to set the parking brakes, and the truck started to roll away. It rolled down a steep decline and exited the business, gathered speed as it rolled towards US 41, where it slammed into the Toyota.

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This was a completely avoidable truck crash that was partially due to the truck driver drinking and driving, although he did not apparently receive a sentence for the DUI charge. It always is the responsibility of commercial truck drivers to drive and maintain their rigs in a safe manner. When they don’t, they go to prison. And, many grieving families make the decision to file a wrongful death lawsuit or personal injury lawsuit against the truck driver and his company.

A wrongful death lawsuit in a truck crash case such as this one, involving drinking and driving, would likely result in a large settlement or verdict, based upon past experience. Juries do not like drunk drivers, and they really do not like truckers that consume alcohol and drive.