SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI — A judge sentenced Melvin Battle of Fayetteville, North Carolina, to five years of probation for hitting and killing a man with a truck in Springfield in 2023, according to investigators.

Authorities said Todd Tennison, 51, died after being struck by a semi-truck trailer near Kansas Expressway and Interstate 44 in September 2023. Investigators said Battle entered an Alford plea in October.

Police said officers responded on Sept. 29, 2023, to the Walmart Supercenter on Kansas Expressway near I-44 after reports that a semi-truck had hit a person. Springfield police said a white tractor-trailer pulling a 52-foot box trailer was traveling eastbound on an access road leaving the parking lot and turned right to go southbound on Kansas Expressway. As the truck turned, investigators said the trailer left the roadway and struck Tennison, who was seated on the ground just off the roadway.

A witness told investigators he followed the semi to the intersection of West Kearney Street, where he told Battle he had hit something with the trailer while turning out of the parking lot. Authorities said Battle told the witness he would return to check, but officers were unable to locate the semi-truck at the time.

After a multi-state investigation, authorities said they identified Battle as the driver. Investigators said Battle later denied involvement and was uncooperative when questioned, including denying that any witness flagged him down or spoke to him about the crash.

Tennison was taken to a hospital but later died from his injuries, authorities said. The case remains part of the court record following the sentencing.

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