PRYOR, Okla. — Mayes County prosecutors have charged an Arizona truck driver with negligent homicide after his tractor-trailer rig struck a car from behind, killing four members of a Missouri family.
James Craig Buchholz, 53, made an initial court appearance on Tuesday, posted $20,000 bond and was released, Pryor police Sgt. Brent Crittenden said.
The Mesa, Ariz., resident told an investigator that he might have fallen asleep at the wheel before his semi hit the 2000 Ford Crown Victoria, killing Melissa Anne Hayes, 41; her 52-year-old husband, Robert Lester Hayes Jr.; their 15-year-old son, Tyler Hayes, and Cody Hayes, 14.
Buchholz acted in “reckless disregard” when he struck the Hayes’ vehicle from behind, the charges against him state.
Melissa Hayes reportedly was stopped at a traffic light when the collision occurred, and both vehicles caught fire after the Sunday afternoon crash on U.S. Highway 69 in Pryor, Crittenden said.
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At the Mayes County Medical Center, where Buchholz was hospitalized, police Sgt. James Blower interviewed the truck driver about the cause of the accident.
“I don’t know what happened. I might have fell asleep,” Buchholz told Blower, according to an affidavit. Buchholz was arrested on Monday at the hospital.
A blood sample was taken from Buchholz and hand-delivered Monday to an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation laboratory in Oklahoma City, where it will be screened for intoxicants, Crittenden said.
Each negligent homicide count is a misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by as much as one year in prison and a fine of $100 to $1,000.
The Hayes family reportedly was headed to Dallas, where one of the boys was to undergo a procedure at a children’s medical center.
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