An Indiana trucker was sentenced to a decade behind bars for a 2014 crash that claimed the lives of five people.
Semi Hit Three Vehicles Stopped For Construction
In July of 2014, 53 year old truck driver Francisco Espinal-Quiroz was traveling north on I-65 near Channahon, Illinois. When traffic slowed for construction, Espinal-Quiroz crashed into three passenger vehicles, killing five people in the cars.
Espinal-Quiroz reportedly had his cruise control set at 65 m.p.h. at the time of the crash.
Long Sentence Designed To Send Message To Other Truckers
In November Espinal-Quiroz pled guilty to five reckless homicide charges and one charge for falsifying his logbook.
During yesterday’s sentencing, Espinal-Quiroz apologized to the victim’s families in court.
Will County Circuit Judge David Carlson handed down a ten year sentence, but Espinal-Quiroz will likely spend about 2 1/2 years in prison due to credit for time served and state sentencing laws.
Carlson said that the lengthy sentence was designed to give the families closure — and to send a message to other truckers about the importance of following safety regulations.
While Espinal-Quiroz admitted to falsifying his log book to show that he started his driving day at 5:15 a.m. instead of 1:15 a.m., he had been on duty for only 13 hours when the crash occurred. He had also been behind the wheel for only a little over 7 hours.
Espinal-Quiroz is blind in his right eye but obtained a waiver that allows him to drive a commercial vehicle.
Truck driver Francisco Espinal-Quiroz, 51, of Leesburg, Indiana charged in fatal I-55 crash http://t.co/5pTDGkIsky pic.twitter.com/9tudTSTkqH
— NBC Chicago (@nbcchicago) July 22, 2014
Sources:
The Chicago Tribune
The Wichita Eagle
STL Today
