Guilty plea withdrawn for truck driver involved in deadly crash

A Boone County judge felt statements a truck driver made about his role in a deadly crash did not agree with the crime that came from it.

Anthony West of Jonesboro, Georgia reinstated his not guilty plea to one count of involuntary manslaughter Monday, after Judge Jodie Asel brought up what she felt were inconsistencies in his case. West pleaded guilty in December to the felony stemming from a 2015 crash on Interstate 70 that killed 79-year-old Margaret Haile of Auxvasse. The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s crash report said West passed several electronic warning signs of slow or stopped traffic and failed to stop for the line of cars building up near the Lake of the Woods exit.

Assistant Boone County Prosecutor Jessica Caldera would not comment on the case after Monday’s hearing.

Asel said the report from Probation and Parole showed a conflicting statement West made in comparison to the crime in which he pleaded guilty. Asel did not specify which statement it was, but questioned whether West’s understanding of what happened that day met involuntary manslaughter’s definition of “reckless” behavior. Caldera recommended a seven-year sentence for West, and Asel felt he needed more time to consider his decision.

“He’s likely to end up in the Department of Corrections, and I’m not sure he knows that,” Asel said in court.

West’s attorney Andrew Popplewell had asked the court for probation. The Probation and Parole office noted that 75 percent of people convicted of involuntary manslaughter receive prison time.

The case is not awaiting a new trial date.