Truck driver placed on probation for deadly 2015 crash

A Georgia truck driver pleaded guilty last week to causing a deadly crash in Boone County in 2015.

According to online court records, Anthony West waived formal arraignment and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

The judge sentenced West to four years in prison, but suspended the execution of the sentence and placed West on five years probation. As part of his probation, West is also not allowed to operate a commercial vehicle. Online records also show West was granted leave to move to Georgia upon approval by probation and parole.

Troopers say West ignored warnings on westbound I-70 when he crashed his tractor-trailer into stalled traffic, killing 79-year-old Margaret Haile of Auxvasse. 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 said 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.

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.

Charges were refiled in the case last month.

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