On Tuesday, the Gulfport driver who last year caused the death of a trucker after a fatal hit-and-run was sentenced to five years in prison.
The crash took place near Slidell, Louisiana on November 3, 2015, on westbound I-10 over the Middle Pearl River. According to Sun Herald, driving conditions were hazardous, as the scene was clouded by thick fog.
26-year-old Daniel Coy used the right shoulder as he tried to pass a semi truck.
However, he soon ran out of room as the shoulder got narrow at the bridge, and ended up hitting a guardrail.
The impact caused him to swerve back into the right lane. He then crashed into the truck he was attempting to pass, which then ran into another semi in the left lane. The truck traveling in the left lane then plummeted off the bridge.
It fell into the river below, where it sank.
The driver of the truck that landed in the river was identified as 26-year-old Steven Shawn Clark from of Theodore, Alabama. He died in the crash.
Rescue workers were called to locate the truck and the truck driver’s body.
Daniel Coy fled the scene. With the help of witnesses, police later located and arrested the man.
Coy was charged with negligent homicide, reckless driving, and hit and run. He pled guilty to the charges. He received the maximum sentence: five years for negligent homicide and another ten years for the hit and run.
However, Coy got off lightly as Ad hoc Judge Donald Fendlason suspended five of the ten-year sentence, allowing him to serve the sentences simultaneously. He was also given credit for time he had served on the reckless driving charge.