A truck driver from Sampson County, North Carolina has been charged with driving while impaired, involuntary manslaughter, and 
several other charges after a hit-and-run that resulted in the death of a 7-year-old girl at a bus stop. The man also faces felony charges for passing a school bus, felony hit-and-run, and driving while impaired while operating a commercial motor vehicle.
The man was operating a logging truck on U.S. Highway 421, when he passed a stopped school bus, struck the child, and continued to drive. He works for a logging company near Autryville, NC about 30 miles away from the crash. Further, the man has multiple drug convictions in the past, along with a 2008 DWI conviction, and arrests for possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and possession of methamphetamine ingredients.
One of the major questions is why the trucking company allowed this man to operate logging vehicles when he was not fit to do so. Investigators are looking into the company’s service record, and the past service record.
A charge with DWI will be handed out to commercial drivers if they register over a 0.04 on the breath-test they are issued. It is a rule in North Carolina that there is a higher standard for commercial drivers and intoxicants within that person’s body. Therefore, if a tragic accident occurs while a commercial driver has been consuming alcohol, they may be deemed intoxicated at a lower rate than others, thus increasing the potential sentence.
If you have a question regarding a pending DWI charge in North Carolina, call the law offices of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower, LLP. You can reach our Charlotte office at 704-499-9000, or toll-free at 877-374-5999.