Driver in 10-death Okla. wreck had clean record

OKLAHOMA CITY — Truck driver Donald Creed had a clean record when the state of Missouri renewed his commercial driver’s license in April. Less than three months later, investigators are trying to figure out why Creed didn’t stop — and perhaps didn’t even hit the brakes — before his big rig slammed into a line of vehicles on an Oklahoma turnpike, a collision that killed 10 people.

Stopping a big rig in a hurry can be one of the most difficult maneuvers for a truck driver, experts say. A similar accident last week in Indiana crushed a pickup truck between two semis, killing a family of five. Police there are investigating the actions of truck driver Forest E. Stover, 58, of Huber Heights, Ohio.

The accidents, both of which happened Friday, highlight just how dangerous big rigs can be and how hard it is to suddenly halt the heavy vehicles when needed.

“It’s nothing unusual, I’m sorry to say,” said Jerry Donaldson, the senior research director for the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group Advocates for Highway and Road Safety.

A National Transportation Safety Board team was en route to Oklahoma on Monday to investigate turnpike accident, and a prosecutor said Creed, 76, could face up to 10 misdemeanor homicide charges, each carrying a 1-year jail sentence.

“I don’t know how I feel right now,” said Wanda Hayes of Garland, Texas, whose son, daughter-in-law and grandson died in the crash. “I’m angry at how the accident occurred.”

Large trucks make up just 3 percent of registered vehicles but are responsible for more than 12 percent of traffic fatalities, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Donaldson said driver fatigue and distraction often play key roles in such crashes, although authorities investigating the accident near the Oklahoma town of Miami have not said what prevented Creed from stopping. Preliminary tests have shown no indication alcohol was a factor.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West said Monday that while the investigation is about 90 percent finished, follow-up interviews, toxicological tests and a detailed accident reconstruction must be completed.

A preliminary report released Saturday indicated Creed’s tractor-trailer was traveling at “unsafe speed for traffic conditions.” Calls to listed telephone numbers for Creed in Ash Grove, Mo., went unanswered Monday.

West said OHP would turn over its report to Ottawa County District Attorney Eddie Wyant, who will decide whether to charge Creed. Wyant said Monday he’d been told it will be at least three weeks before he receives the report.

“From what I can tell at this point, any potential charges would be misdemeanor negligent homicide charges,” Wyant said. “If all you have is negligence of the driver, it is a misdemeanor, which carries up to one year in the county jail. I could see there could be 10 counts of that.”

Creed, 76, had no black marks on his driving record when he renewed his commercial driver’s license in April in Missouri. Drivers above age 70 must renew every three years, according to Ted Farnen, a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Revenue.

To renew, drivers must pass written, road-sign recognition and vision tests and certify that they meet the national Department of Transportation medical requirements. They don’t have to get behind the wheel, Farnen said.

Kansas City, Kan.-based Associated Wholesale Grocers issued a statement Monday acknowledging one of the company’s trucks was involved in the Oklahoma accident, expressing condolences to the families of those killed and injured and saying the company was working with authorities.

Steve Dillard, the company’s vice president for corporate sales development, declined further comment.