Semi-truck driver James Buchholz reportedly told police, “I don’t know what happened. I might have fell asleep,” when questioned in regard to the fatal crash involving his 2007 Freightliner and a Missouri family of four. The freightliner struck the family’s Ford Crown Victoria from behind at an intersection in Pryor, Oklahoma, killing Melissa and Robert Hayes and their two teenage sons.
Arrested March 11 at the Mayes County Medical Center, Buchholz has been charged with four counts of negligent homicide, with each count punishable with a $100-$1,000 fine and up to one year in prison upon conviction. This is just one more of an extensive list of cases of reckless driving by a truck driver that ended in the tragic death of innocent individuals. In a recent survey, almost 20 percent of truckers admitted to falling asleep at the wheel at least once in the three months prior to the survey. Truck drivers are driving too many hours without the proper amount of sleep to earn more money for themselves and their trucking companies. Motorists need to be made aware of these dangers.
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