Truck Driver Sentenced to Four Years

By Jacy Wojcik in News on Apr 4, 2008 5:47PM

Truck driver Vincente Zepeda was sentenced to four years in prison for reckless homicide for a 2003 tollway crash that killed eight women. They were tour bus passengers on their way home from a garden tour in Rockford, Il. The crash, which also injured 15 people, happened at a high traffic construction zone near the Hampshire-Marengo toll plaza on the Jane Adams Memorial Highway.

Zepeda had a flawless pre-crash driving record testified that was he was obeying the 45 MPH work zone and could not avoid the crash after the tour bus abruptly stopped but investigators claim he was going at least 60 miles an hour. Zepeda made his first public apology yesterday and told families of the victims he was sorry and empathizes with their suffering. He maintains the crash was an unavoidable accident. [Trib, S-T, Daily Herald]