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Carrier Owner In Deadly Crash Seeking Early Release From Prison

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The owner of a trucking company responsible for a fatal crash in 2005 on Avon Mountain is seeking early release from prison due to medical issues.

According to the Hartford Courant, David Wilcox, 77, was the owner of American Crushing and Recycling in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

On July 29, 2005, the brakes went out on one of Wilcox’s trucks as the driver was driving down Avon Mountain, causing the truck to careen out of control and crash into multiple vehicles.  The crash killed the truck driver and three other motorists.  Fourteen people were injured.  Twenty vehicles and one passenger bus were involved in the wreck.

In 2009, Wilcox pleaded guilty to four counts of second degree manslaughter, five counts of first degree assault and no contest to insurance fraud.  He was sentenced to six years in prison on the manslaughter and assault charges.

Wilcox has 18 months left on his sentence, but he’s seeking early release from prison.

“It’s basically his health,” said William T. Gerace, a Hartford attorney. “He has a heart condition. He has diabetes. He may have had a stroke. He’s not getting the best medical care.”

Wilcox’s attorney called Wilcox a model prisoner who had been “punished sufficiently,” but some families of the victims disagree.

“He hasn’t been punished at all,” Michael Juan, whose father was severely injured in the crash, said. “Yes, he’s sitting in jail. But his family can go and see him still, as to where my family and the other victims that lost a loved one, they cannot see their loved ones.”

Juan says he and other families plan to fight the early release.

“This guy’s claiming, ‘Well, my client might have had a stroke and he’s old.'” Juan said. “It’s not fair, because all them people that he killed that day don’t have a chance to get old now. It’s just not right.”

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