A logging truck driver who tested positive for methamphetamine was sentenced to forty years in prison for a 2014 crash that killed two construction workers and injured 19 others.
Blowout Causes Logging Truck To Overturn
The fatal crash occurred on June 2, 2014 in Clinton, Arkansas. Forty-one year old driver Jerry L. Hickman was traveling south on U.S. 65 when a left rear tire blowout caused his load to shift, overturning the truck. Logs spilled off the truck onto the roadway and onto the Archey Creek bridge, where a construction crew was at work.
Two of the construction workers were killed and 19 others hurt as a result of the crash.
Hickman tested positive for methamphetamine use after the crash. An on scene police officer said that Hickman behaved as if he were intoxicated after the crash.
Court Issues Maximum Sentence
On Tuesday, Hickman pled guilty to two counts of negligent homicide and sixteen counts of felony battery.
The judge issued the maximum sentence — 20 years for each of the homicide charges. The judge also made the sentences consecutive, not concurrent.
“The moment Jerry Hickman took the wheel high on methamphetamines, his log truck became a weapon of destruction,” stated Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chad Brown
Sources:
The Hastings Tribune
Arkansas Online
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette