Semi-truck driver sentenced for killing 5 people in crash on I-10 near Chandler

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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A semi-trucker driver has been sentenced to more than 22 years behind bars for a crash that killed five people on the I-10 near Chandler early last year.

The collision happened around 6:15 a.m. on Jan. 12, 2023 on I-10 near Chandler Boulevard.

 

GPS data showed the driver of a semi-truck, 38-year-old Danny Glen Tiner, was driving 68 mph in a 55-mph construction zone. He was also reportedly using TikTok on his cellphone when he plowed into two cars, pushing them into another semi-truck and two other cars.

The two cars that were crushed between the semi-trucks burst into flames, killing five people.

“This road is a straight road. You can see for miles, and the traffic wasn’t that heavy at that time to where you couldn’t see ahead, and it was dark when it happened, so you got brake lights that you should have been able to see for quite some time,” Arizona Department of Public Safety Capt. Keith Gephert said when the crash happened.

The freeway was shut down for about 11 hours that day.

Tiner was arrested about five months after the crash.

Tiner originally said he received a message on his work tablet and “acknowledged the message,” DPS said. He said when he looked back up, traffic was stopped, and he couldn’t stop in time. However, digital forensic data showed he accessed at least four TikTok videos while driving within seconds of the collision.

DPS says this marks the first time in agency history that a driver has been convicted of causing a deadly crash while distracted by a social media app.

“As a driver, you have an obligation to pay attention to the road. To choose to access social media while driving, placing the lives of others on the line, is reckless,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Five families are living through the pain of losing a loved one. While the justice system can never relieve that pain, it can hold the person responsible accountable. We achieved that goal.”


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