A FedEx truck driver accused of killing a former Lengthy Island monitor star and his two youngsters in a crash allegedly checked out his telephone 25 instances and was “periodically tapping and swiping” earlier than inflicting the deadly wreck.
Santos Valentin, 30, collided with a Honda Civic carrying Donnell Hickson, 43, his son Decir, 18, and his 11-year-old daughter Kyla on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on July 20, 2024, whereas driving in his FedEx tractor-trailer, WKBN reported.
Investigators mentioned that the sheer pressure of the crash prompted each autos to be pushed off the street and that the supply truck landed on high of the automobile.
Hickson, who was a Baldwin resident, and his two youngsters have been pronounced lifeless on the scene. Valentin was taken to the hospital however survived.
Valentin turned himself into police on Thursday after he was charged with three felony counts of murder by a automobile after prosecutors alleged he was utilizing his telephone across the time of the collisions, in line with court docket data filed on Feb. 12.
The supply driver — who was not carrying a seatbelt on the time of the wreck — advised police that the Hickson’s Civic “came out of nowhere” once they collided, and he was driving at a velocity of round 65 to 75 mph.
Nevertheless, sprint digital camera footage contained in the FedEx truck paints a distinct image.
Prosecutors say the footage reveals Valentin “using his cellphone for an extended period of time well before the crash,” and he had completed so about 48 seconds earlier than the deadly collision.
“Valentin looks down or glances at his phone a total of 25 times. In that same 48 seconds, Valentin looks up or glances at the road a total of 20 times” and was noticed “periodically tapping and swiping the screen,” in line with Newsday.
Seconds earlier than the crash, the Honda was heading east within the left lane however modified over to the fitting lane in entrance of the FedEx truck and stopped.
Investigators have but to find out why the Honda abruptly stopped.
Valentin posted his bail set at $300,000 by Magisterial District Decide Joseph Stauffer after being held within the Lancaster County Jail on Thursday.
A preliminary listening to has not but been scheduled.
A crowdfunding web page to help Hickson’s spouse and Kyla’s mom, Keisha, and his mom, Martinique, says the “amazing” father of two “was always that person to light up any room her entered with his great personality.”
Hickson additionally was an All-American and all-state triple jumper at York School in Jamaica, Queens, and competed at the 2005 NCAA Championships.
His son, Decir, was gearing as much as enter school just a few weeks earlier than he was killed within the wreck.
His 11-year-old daughter was described as “very creative with dreams of creating her own cartoon show one day.”
“Donnell, Decir, and Kyla were beloved members of our community,” the web page organizers, Frances Crooks and Lakeisha Barron-Williams, wrote. “Their loss is felt deeply by all who knew them.”
