MUNCIE, IN — A semi driver from Allen County faces four criminal charges, three of them felonies, stemming from a crash on Interstate 69 that killed a Delaware County sheriff’s deputy.
Cpl. Blake Reynolds, 31, was fatally injured on the early morning of Nov. 12 while trying to help the driver of a disabled truck in the northbound lanes of the interstate north of Indiana 28. Another semi — driven by Teddy Johnson, 39, of New Haven — struck both Reynolds’ patrol vehicle and the other truck, which in turn hit the deputy.
Johnson was arrested by Indiana State Police on Monday, April 27, after Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman charged him with four crimes: reckless homicide and involuntary manslaughter, both Level 5 felonies carrying up to six years in prison; failure to change lanes for authorized emergency vehicle, a Level 6 felony with a maximum 30-month sentence; and reckless operation of a tractor-trailer combination, a misdemeanor.
According to an affidavit, Reynolds had left his patrol vehicle — after activating its “bright blue and red flashing lights” — to investigate the earlier accident in the Interstate’s northbound lanes when Johnson’s semi, traveling at 61 mph, failed to move into the left lane, “which was clear,” as it approached the scene.
“Johnson approached the scene while in the right lane with no reaction, response or recognition that there was a police vehicle with its lights flashing directly in front of his path,” an Indiana State Police investigator wrote.
His semi struck both Reynolds’ Dodge Durango and the other truck’s trailer, which in turn struck and dragged the deputy, causing fatal injuries.
According to the ISP investigator, video from inside Johnson’s truck showed him wearing headphones and “using what appeared to be a cellular phone or similar handheld electronic device,” which he had placed on his right thigh as he “manipulated the (device’s) touchscreen.”
The affidavit alleged “these actions took Johnson’s attention away from the road in front of him and to whatever he was viewing on the screen of his handheld device.”
The investigator also reported that Johnson, whose semi-tractor trailer weighed more than 26,000 pounds, had been “awake and active for more than 21 hours” and was showing “obvious signs of fatigue prior to the crash.”
According to the affidavit, the Allen County man “caught himself falling asleep and shook his head back and forth as if he was trying to stay awake.”
By order of Delaware Circuit Court 5 Judge Thomas Cannon Jr., Johnson — who was arrested Monday in Allen County — was to be held without bond after arriving at the Delaware County Jail. An initial hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
On Jan. 30, Cpl. Reynolds’ widow, Allison, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Delaware Circuit Court 2 naming Johnson and his employer, Fort Wayne-based Parrish Dedicated Services, among the defendants.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Charges filed against semi driver in I-69 crash that killed deputy
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
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