Distracted Dump Truck Driver Charged After Near-Fatal Pileup

A nearly deadly accident has ended in justice for those injured.
Sputnik

Footage uploaded to Viral Hog Thursday provides a dashcam perspective on a preventable pileup in Savage, Minnesota, on September 8.

Beginning around the 0:37 mark in the video, the dump truck is seen approaching other vehicles in a backed up traffic queue on Highway 13. Despite the long line of cars, the motorist operating the dump truck only abruptly slams on his brakes (0:42) less than two seconds before rear-ending an SUV that is subsequently crumpled within the pileup.

"Dump truck appeared to have sped up rather than slowed down in the video," said video owner Pat Nelson to Viral Hog.

The 48-year-old dump truck driver, Andy Lee Stafford, who didn't "appear" to be impaired by drugs or alcohol, according to a state trooper, was cited for failure to use due care. Drivers in both SUVs pinned in the accident were transported to nearby medical centers with non-life-threatening injuries — including broken bones, according to Prior Lake American.

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