First court appearance set for truck driver accused in Boone County fireman’s death

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Kansas City truck driver accused in the death of a Boone County firefighter pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance Monday afternoon.

Kevin L. Brunson, 65, is set to appear before Judge Brouck Jacobs after being booked into the Boone County Jail over the weekend. Brunson is accused of manslaughter in the death of Bryant Gladney after his tractor-trailer slammed into the Boone County Fire Protection District assistant fire chief's SUV on Interstate 70 on Dec. 22, killing Gladney.

Prosecutors charged Brunson with first-degree manslaughter.

Brunson faces a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 10 years for his class C felony.

At the time Gladney was working on the scene of another crash and had his SUV parked on the right side of the interstate with his hazards flashing.

Brunson told investigators that he did not know anyone was in the right lane at the time, according to court documents. Brunson said he began slowing down when he saw other trucks doing so but didn't realize Gladney's truck was stopped until it was too late.

Witnesses told officials they thought Brunson was driving too fast for the situation which ultimately contributed to the crash.

Brunson was booked into jail Friday and remained there Monday on a $250,000 bond. Brunson made is clear this afternoon he would not post bond.

In response the court ordered a bond investigation.

No attorney is listed for Brunson in online court records.