Charges refiled in deadly Interstate 70 crash
Charges have been refiled against Georgia man accused of manslaughter in a fatal 2015 crash on Interstate 70.
Anthony West of Jonesboro, Georgia, is accused of ignoring warnings on westbound I-70 in Boone County on July 1, 2015, when he crashed his tractor-trailer into stalled traffic, killing 79-year-old Margaret Haile of Auxvasse. A single charge of second-degree involuntary manslaughter was filed against West on Thursday.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol had put up signs warning about a crash farther west on the interstate, which snarled traffic that afternoon. The patrol claims West didn’t slow down when he passed those signs, eventually hitting Haile’s car and coming to a stop when he hit the back of another semi. The patrol in a probable cause statement said Haile was driving at 68 mph and only hit his brakes one second before impact.
West’s trial was delayed a day before it was set to take place in June 2017 after a judge excluded several pieces of evidence that prosecutors wanted to use against him. West had initially pleaded guilty, but his plea was thrown out after a judge said he made statements that conflicted with the official record of the event.
An initial arraignment in West’s new case is set for Dec. 27.
