The man behind the wheel of a big rig that was rear ended by a tour bus in a crash that killed 13 people has been charged with manslaughter, reports the Desert Sun.
Bruce Guilford, 51, of Covington, Georgia, stopped for traffic in the far-right lane of Interstate 10 on Oct. 23, 2016, and dozed off, authorities say. While Guilford was sleeping, traffic began moving again, but his vehicle continued to block the westbound lane, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant filed Wednesday in Riverside County Superior Court.
The tour bus, which was returning to Los Angeles from the Red Earth Casino near Salton City, hit the rear of Guilford’s trailer at a speed of 76 miles per hour, according to court documents.
Guilford now faces 13 counts of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, 11 counts of felony reckless driving with injury, and 18 counts of misdemeanor reckless driving with injury.
#breaking #news I-10 mass casualty accident 21 people transported to local hospitals in the area 3 confirmed fatals pic.twitter.com/UrM8fGdO5h
— Chris Tarpening (@Tarp1969) October 23, 2016
Prosecutors claim that during the 24 hours prior to the crash, Guilford had only 7 hours where he might have slept and claim it is “unlikely” he actually did sleep during that time.
The arrest declaration also adds that Guilford is not the person most at fault for the crash – which indicates that authorities believe the bus driver was also at fault.
Read more at the Desert Sun.
