TERRELL, Texas — A truck-tractor driver accused of running a red light and causing a multi-vehicle crash which resulted in the death of a two-month-old infant in Terrell in 2012 has been sentenced to one year in prison.
TERRELL, Texas — A truck-tractor driver accused of running a red light and causing a multi-vehicle crash which resulted in the death of a two-month-old infant in Terrell in 2012 has been sentenced to one year in prison.
David Wayne Smith, now 63 years old, pled no contest last week on a charge of criminally negligent homicide, a state jail felony. The punishment range for the charge, according to the Kaufman County District Attorney’s Office, was six months to two years in prison.
During the investigation, Smith maintained he did not run a red light. Investigators were able to obtain video surveillance from nearby convenience stores which led investigators to believe Smith did run a red light.
A pre-sentencing investigation was held prior to a sentencing hearing on May 26, 2017, when testimony was heard from the deceased infant’s family as well as the defendant’s family. Following testimony, 422nd District Court Judge B. Michael Chitty sentenced Smith to one year in prison and ordered him to pay a $5,000 fine.
On October 23, 2012, Smith was driving a 2003 Kenworth truck-trailer while hauling a trailer northbound on State Highway (SH) 34 when he allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of West Moore Avenue, also known as U.S. Highway 80.
Smith’s truck-tractor and trailer collided with a Honda Insight which was traveling westbound on West Moore Avenue before veering into the southbound lane of SH 34 where it struck a Toyota Camry and a Nissan Maxima which were both stopped at the red light, according to a crash report obtained by inForney.com.
The 18-wheeler and the Nissan Maxima came to a rest in a nearby business’s parking lot with the Maxima’s three passengers becoming entrapped in the overturned vehicle. Two adult passengers were extricated and the two-month-old infant, identified as Skye Stone, was pronounced deceased on scene.
Stone’s family was involved in a civil case against Smith, the trucking company, and another party in the collision. The results of that case were not immediately available.
