Truck driver reflects on how 8 seconds browsing Zillow app ended a man’s life in haunting video

A truck driver sentenced to prison for killing a motorist spoke to Minnesota transportation authorities about the dangers of distracted driving.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) released devastating video featuring truck driver Sam Hicks, who was sentenced to a year in prison for a crash that killed 54 year old motorist Rob Bursick.

Hicks pled guilty in April 2019 to a charge of criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the February 2018 crash on Highway 36 in Lake Elmo. Hicks admitted to looking at a text about a home listing on the Zillow app for several seconds before rear-ending Bursick’s car at a traffic light at while traveling at speeds of 63 m.p.h.

The video shared by the Minnesota DPS shows both outward and driver-facing dash cam views of the fatal crash.

Hicks spoke to the Minnesota DPS as part of a provision in his sentencing in hopes that others will put their phones down when they drive.

“When I think about Mr. Bursick, I think about his family, I think about his being a dad, I think about him being a professor… I think about his kids. You definitely don’t want to be the person who takes somebody’s life. It’s heartbreaking to know that happened, to know I caused that, to know I caused it. I wish I could take it all back,” Hicks said.

You can view the gripping video below.