Florida-based truck driver Tony Weekly Jr., 55, has pleaded no contest to charges involving the 2016 crash that killed a Denver man and a Minnesota family of five.
Weekly accepted a plea deal on May 8, 2018, including three counts of misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide, three counts of felony motor vehicle homicide and one count of misdemeanor reckless driving.
The fatal crash occurred July 31, 2016 around 11:30 a.m. on Interstate 80 near Brule, Nebraska.
According to KWBE, Weekly was on the phone and reached for a drink when the accident happened. Weekly was driving 55 – 60 mph through a construction zone when he struck the mini van, causing a wreck with the Denver man as well.
Weekly’s attorney, Gary Krajewski, said Weekly was using a Bluetooth headset, “which is perfectly legal in trucks.”
The family of five’s bodies were found in their mini van, engulfed in flames at the scene. They were driving to Denver to complete training for missionary work in Japan. The Denver man was found unconscious in his vehicle and died days later.
Sentencing is set for July 20, 2018.