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McKinney truck driver charged with manslaughter
By Josh Hixson, Staff Writer
Jeremy Jean Davidson, a 21 year-old tractor truck driver from McKinney, was arrested and charged with manslaughter by Plano Police Department on Tuesday afternoon.
Davidson is implicated in the death of Cynthia Yulanda Carter, 33, of McKinney.
On Oct. 18 at 6:43 a.m. Davidson was driving a tractor truck full of sand when he ran a red light at the intersection of state highway 121 and Custer Road in Plano.
The tractor truck Davidson was driving was estimated by police to have weighed 80,000 pounds at the time of the accident.
Carter was pronounced dead on the scene by the Collin County Coroner, while Worman was treated for her injuries at an area hospital.
Officer Andrae Smith, a spokesperson for the Plano Police Department, confirmed that multiple independent witnesses saw that Carter had a green light and that Davidson ran the red light while traveling at a high rate of speed.
“Multiple witnesses at the scene, who witnessed the accident, confirmed that the driver of the truck ran the red light,” Smith said. “Witness information weighs more than anything sometimes.”
Davidson could face anywhere from two to 20 years and up to a $10,000 fine if convicted of the felony manslaughter charge. Davidson’s bail was set at $20,000.
Smith was at the scene of the accident that day and ruled out the possibility of drugs or alcohol playing a factor in Davidson’s judgment.
“There was no indication of any foreign substance being in his system at the time of the incident,” Smith said. “It was determined that alcohol and drugs did not play a role in this accident.”
While there were no red light cameras at the intersection, Smith said that the city of Plano and the Texas Department of Transportation are working together to install them.
“Prior to date there has not been a red light camera at the intersection,” Smith said. “The Plano city council is working with TxDOT to put a red light camera in this area.”
Getting all drivers to respect red lights is a major priority, Smith said.
“We will continue our efforts to get the general motoring public to recognize these lights and it is an issue that we continue to address,” Smith said.
Contact staff writer Josh Hixson at jhixson@acnpapers.com or 972-398-4255.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Red Jim wrote on Nov 1, 2006 6:22 PM:
" A camera may or may not have prevented this horrible accident. And, you can't equip every intersection with a camera, but there are other things you can and should do.
1. Lengthen the yellow. A 2004 paper (fn. 2) showed a 69% decrease in violations when a yellow was increased from 4.0 seconds, to 4.5 seconds. There are other studies (fn. 1) with similar results. It also reduces severe accidents. A 2004 study (fn. 3) by the Texas Transportation Institute found, "…an increase in the yellow duration of 1.0 second is associated with an MF [crash frequency] of about 0.6, which corresponds to a 40 percent reduction in crashes."
2. Improve street markings. 2005 research (fn. 4) sponsored by Florida's Department of Transportation concluded that improving street markings near intersections reduced red light running by up to 74 percent without increasing the likelihood of rear end collisions.
3. Increase the size of all the lights, to 12".
Try these alternatives before installing cameras.
Red Jim
editor@highwayrobbery.net
Footnotes:
1. http://thenewspaper.com/news/04/430.asp (Red Light Camera Studies Roundup)
2. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-06242004-230619/unrestricted/Thesis_3.pdf at page 67
3. http://thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/04-alternatives.pdf at page 2-20
4. http://thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/05-simulator.pdf at page 69
"
collincountyoldtimer wrote on May 19, 2012 12:14 AM:
" How about having truck operate their vehicle within it's designed capabilities? A loaded 80,000 truck cannot stop within the same distance as an empty truck. The driver knows this but realizes that he has to push the edge to get as many loads delivered to make any money. This is what happens when you pay drivers by how many loads they deliver. The trucking company owners are just as guilty as the drivers. There is nothing like cruising down the 121 service roads at the speed limit and you've got some gravel truck truck in your rear view mirror and all you can see is his radiator with a growling teeth cut out on it!! "
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