LANSING — Nearly a year after a semi truck plowed into vehicles stopped because of a utility project on Interstate 96 near Webberville, killing four people and injuring many others, the truck driver has been charged with eight misdemeanor counts.
James Edward Glendon, 58, faces four counts each of committing a moving violation causing death and committing a moving violation causing serious injury. The former charge is punishable by up to a year in jail, while the latter carries a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail.
The 55th District Court complaint was issued Sept. 10. Glendon had not been arraigned on the charges as of Sept. 25.
Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane, whose office authorized the charges, said Glendon was out of state and efforts were being made to get him back to Michigan.
Court records do not list an attorney for Glendon, and Dewane said he did not believe the truck driver was represented by an attorney in the misdemeanor case.
The crash happened on the night of Nov. 2, 2024, in the westbound lanes near Deitz Road. Michigan State Police had stopped traffic so crews could string utility lines across the freeway. The freeway had been reopened when the crash happened, but traffic was still backed up in the area.
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Glendon and the Grand Rapids-based company he was working for, Koleaseco Inc., have been named in lawsuits filed by crash victims or their families. DTE Energy, which had undertaken the project to string new electrical lines across the freeway, also is being sued.
A new lawsuit filed on behalf of the estate of Manessah Naval, who was killed in the crash, by Grewal Law and Hafke Legal Services alleges DTE and two of its contractors violated the terms of a state-issued permit by failing to erect warning signs and take other precautions to safely shut down the freeway.
The suit was filed Sept. 4 and names DTE and contractors Hydaker-Wheatlake Company and Utility Supply and Construction Company, Hydaker-Wheatlake’s parent company, as defendants.
The construction permit from the Michigan Department of Transportation required that lighted message boards be placed on both sides of the freeway three days before the construction day and that “Watch for traffic backup” signs be used to warn approaching drivers, the suit said. Those precautions were not taken, it said.
Moreover, neither DTE nor its contractors provided the state with the required “Advance Notice,” before starting the work late on Nov. 2. The MDOT permit also said the “permittee is solely and fully responsible for all activities” undertaken, the court filing said.
The defendants had not responded to the suit as of Sept. 26. DTE and USCO did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Sept. 26.
Attorneys representing 11 families in the litigation against Koleaseco Inc., the trucking company, have questioned the role MDOT and the Michigan State Police may have played.
The lawsuits claim the interstate wasn’t properly closed, including a lack of advance notice for motorists as they reached the stretch of highway near the M-52 interchange.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Truck driver charged in horrific crash on I-96 in November that killed 4, injured others
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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