Truck Driver Indicted in Fatal Nicholas County Wreck

From the Beckley Register-Herald:

Truck driver indicted in fatal wreck

Chrissy Boone
Register-Herald Correspondent

SUMMERSVILLE — A grand jury called by a special prosecutor has indicted a Pennsylvania truck driver in connection with an accident in Nicholas County a year ago that killed a Fayette County man.

The grand jury indicted Richard Cyphert, 34, of Knox, Pa., on charges of negligent homicide and failure to maintain control in the Feb. 27, 2007, death of Tommy F. Ramsey Jr., 30, of Edmond, on U.S. 19 near Mount Lookout.

Special prosecutor Tom MacAulay of Raleigh County presented the case to the grand jury. MacAulay was assigned to the case after Ramsey’s family persisted in pursuing charges against Cyphert. Nicholas County Prosecutor Mark Hudnall declined to present the matter to a grand jury, stating he did not believe there was enough evidence to support a conviction.

According to the accident report completed by Nicholas sheriff’s Cpl. Walter Shafer and Deputy Jarod Lane, Ramsey, driving a pickup truck, was following a tractor-trailer driven by his cousin, Eddie Orval Ramsey Jr., 26, of Edmond. Eddie Ramsey’s tractor-trailer had experienced mechanical problems earlier, and both he and his cousin were traveling south on U.S. 19 at about 50 mph with their flashers on.

The accident report said Tommy Ramsey’s pickup truck was then struck in the rear by Cyphert’s tractor-trailer, pushing the pickup into the back of Eddie Ramsey’s tractor-trailer.

The accident report said the roadway was dry and weather conditions were clear. Cyphert was not cited.

Negligent homicide is a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of a year in jail.

Tanker Truck Overturns in Raleigh County

From the Beckley Register-Herald:

C.L. Garvin / Register-Herald Photographer

Overturned tanker

C.L. Garvin
Register-Herald Photographer

Personnel from the Trap Hill Volunteer Fire Department along with Jan-Care and Best ambulances work to extricate the driver of a tanker truck that overturned on W.Va. 3 in Eccles Tuesday. According to the Raleigh County Emergency Operations Center, W.Va. 3 near Old Eccles Road was closed after the accident. Evergreen Environmental Management was called to the scene to clean up spilled diesel fuel, and the driver was believed to have been taken to a local hospital. The wreckage was reportedly cleaned up by late afternoon.

Snowy Weather Causing Accidents in Greenbrier County

From the Charleston Gazette:

Truck flips, closes I-64 in Greenbrier

A tractor-trailer flipped on its side, closing Interstate 64 near Dawson to eastbound traffic on Wednesday, a Greenbrier County 911 dispatcher said.

Members of the Smoot and Clintonville Volunteer Fire Departments shut down the interstate because of snowy weather conditions just before 8 p.m. after responding to the overturned trailer, she said.

Slippery conditions caused a number of accidents on I-64 Wednesday evening, including one near the state line, she said.

None of the accidents involved serious injuries, she said.

Update in Fayette County Tanker Truck Collision

From the Beckley Register-Herald:

Wreck victim identified as Fayette woman

Register-Herald Reporter

A Fayette County woman has been identified as one of two people killed in a collision involving a vehicle and a tanker truck, authorities in Nicholas County said.

However, the identity of the second victim in the Saturday’s crash has yet to be confirmed.

Vickie Akers, 51, of 56 Riverview Drive, Charlton Heights, was killed in the crash, the sheriff’s office said. She was a passenger in a 1995 Jeep Wrangler. The male driver was also killed, but Chief Deputy Wayne Plummer said the man’s identity has not been officially confirmed by the state medical examiner’s office.

The accident occurred around 3:30 a.m. on W.Va. 39 in Canvas. Apparently, the driver of the Wrangler veered left of center and struck the tanker truck head-on, the sheriff’s office said.

The Wrangler reportedly caught fire after impact, according to the Nicholas Emergency Operations Center.

The tanker truck’s driver, 63-year-old Peery M. Angles Jr., of Roanoke, Va., was not injured.

The accident remains under investigation.

— Amelia A. Pridemore

Beckley Police Officer Involved in Accident

From the Beckley Register-Herald:

Beckley officer involved in accident on Robert C. Byrd Drive

The Register-Herald

A Beckley police officer was involved in a two-vehicle accident Saturday night.

Beckley Police Chief Tim Deems said the officer was headed northbound on Robert C. Byrd Drive in response to an apparent fight call when the accident occurred near Arby’s.

Both the officer, whose name is not being released at this time, and the driver of the other vehicle, who was also not being identified, were transported to unknown hospitals. Deems was uncertain of the condition of either driver.

The wreck investigation is being handled by the State Police.

No other information was available as of press time.

2 Killed in Nicholas County Jeep, Tanker Truck Collision

From the Beckley Register-Herald:

2 killed in Nicholas Jeep, tanker truck collision

Amelia A. Pridemore
Register-Herald Reporter

Two people were killed in Nicholas County early Saturday morning after a Jeep Wrangler and a tanker truck collided, authorities said.

The accident on W.Va. 39 in Canvas was reported to the Nicholas County Emergency Operations Center around 3 a.m. Saturday. The circumstances of the accident were under investigation by the Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department.

The two people killed were inside the Wrangler, the EOC said. The tanker truck’s driver was not injured. The Wrangler reportedly caught fire after impact.

W.Va. 39 was closed for an unknown length of time after the accident, the EOC said.

The victims’ bodies have been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for identification, the EOC said.

No further information was available Saturday.

Two Killed in Goldtown I-77 Crash

Note: Here you have two Home Depot employees traveling in an SUV, they lose control, possibly due to ice, and collide with a UPS tractor trailer. This case presents some complex issues. The article doesn’t actually say who was killed, but I am assuming it was the two Home Depot employees. Even assuming the driver of the SUV was negligent, which is an issue because the roads were icy, there are some potentially complex issues: Two sets of employees, both large companies. One of the vehicles was a UPS truck, the other was an SUV. Was the SUV owned by Hope Depot, or was it the private vehicle of the driver? Could the driver – and hence his private insurance policy – be liable? Were the Home Depot employees actually acting in the course of business? Does workers compensation immunity apply? Was the UPS driver negligent? Was the UPS driver injured? – John H. Bryan, West Virginia car accident attorney.

From today’s Charleston Gazette:

Two killed in Goldtown I-77 crash

By Staff, wire reports

Two people were killed Wednesday morning when a tractor-trailer struck the SUV they were traveling in on Interstate 77 near Goldtown, said B.W. DeWees, chief deputy for the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.

Michael D. Ferrier, 39, of Vincent, Ohio, and Amanda Diane Vaughan, 23, of Vienna, who were both Home Depot employees, were traveling from the Parkersburg store to the Charleston store, he said.

The accident happened around 7:30 a.m., DeWees said.

“As the SUV was passing a UPS tractor-trailer, the SUV ran off the road into the median, lost control, came back up into the roadway in front of the tractor-trailer,” he said. “The tractor-trailer was unable to stop and struck the vehicle.”

Ferrier was driving, and no other vehicles were involved in the accident, he said.

The snowy conditions may have contributed to the accident, DeWees said.

Also Wednesday, four people died in Jefferson County after the van they were in collided with a tractor-trailer on U.S. 340 near Harpers Ferry.

Sgt. Robert Sell with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department said the driver of the westbound van lost control due to icy conditions and slid into the eastbound lane, colliding head-on with the truck at about 6:40 a.m.

The three passengers in the van were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver was taken to Jefferson Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m., said Sell.

The names of the victims weren’t immediately available.

Two Injured In Goff Mountain Crash

From today’s Charleston Gazette:

Two taken to hospital in Goff Mountain crash

A single-car accident closed Goff Mountain Road between Cross Lanes and Institute on Wednesday, a Metro 911 dispatcher said.

Three people were in the car, he said.

One was seriously injured in the accident, which happened around 11:15 p.m. between the Terramite facility and Golden Corral restaurant, the dispatcher said.

Two people were taken to Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital, he said.

He was Drinking: Monroe County Bus Driver Resigns, Admits Drinking Problem

Note: It appalls me that I received criticism for being “mean” when this man receives nothing but excuses for his behavior. The facts are these: He drank, he drove a school bus filled with children, he drove the school bus off a 120 foot cliff, he lied and said he drank Nyquil, he lied and said he had a medical problem, then he finally admits the truth. Well, words are cheap. Trust me, many people facing criminal charges have the innate ability to sound extremely sorry and remorseful for what they have done. In the following news article, his written apology is quoted. However, it looks to me like one of those apologies that is not really an apology. In other words, “I’m sorry but it wasn’t me – it was the alcohol making my decisions for me.” He should take real responsibility for his actions and come to grips with the fact that he did make a “knowing” choice. He selfishly chose alcohol over the safety of the innocent children who he was entrusted to protect. Both he, the Board of Education and the State of West Virginia better pray that none of these children have been injured – John H. Bryan, Attorney at Law.

From today’s Register-Herald:

Bus driver resigns, admits drinking problem

By Christian Giggenbach
Register-Herald Reporter

Saying “I hit rock bottom,” a veteran Monroe County school bus driver arrested last week on a DUI charge has resigned after admitting to having “a problem with alcohol.”

Clyde Watson Jr., 62, of Union, tendered his resignation to Superintendent Lyn Guy Saturday, and Guy presented it to the school board during a special session Monday evening.

“Mr. Watson, who was involved in the bus accident on Feb. 5, 2008, and was charged with DUI, had written a letter of apology to the board president, the superintendent and the transportation director Feb. 7, two days after the accident,” Guy said Tuesday in a faxed news release.

In the letter, Watson admitted to having an ongoing alcohol problem, according to Guy.

“It has been through the constant support and encouragement of my closest friends, for the first time in years, I’m willing to admit to myself that I have a problem with alcohol,” Watson wrote. “As difficult as that was for me, it is even more difficult to admit to each of you.”

Guy could not be reached for further comment Tuesday. School officials said Guy will be absent for the rest of the week due to an out-of-state conference for superintendents.

Watson, a school bus driver for 14 years, crashed his 33-foot-long bus into a 120-foot ravine with 11 school children aboard Feb. 5. There were no injuries.

“I hit rock bottom Tuesday morning (Feb. 5). I can’t change the fact that I committed a great moral and ethical injustice, and risked the lives of many,” Watson said in his apology letter.

“What I can change is my life and the direction it was headed in before those kids got on my bus … It is with heavy heart that I can tell you that at no time would I have knowingly put my kids at risk. I did, however, let the influence of alcohol unfortunately impair my judgment.

Watson was charged with DUI with minors in a vehicle, according to a criminal complaint filed by State Police Sgt. J.L. Cooper.

At the scene, Watson had a preliminary breath test which indicated a small amount of alcohol was present in his blood, about .022.

Watson told police he had taken Nyquil, which contains alcohol, the night before the accident.

Cooper said Tuesday he will contact the Monroe prosecutor’s office concerning Watson’s alcohol admission and resignation to the school board.

“He has already given us a statement saying he did not drink during the day of the accident,” Cooper said Tuesday. “If Mr. Watson wishes to revise his statement, then I will be glad to speak to him.”

Monroe Prosecutor Rod Mohler could not be reached for comment Tuesday. State Police are awaiting the results of Watson’s blood tests from a hospital visit the day of the accident, Cooper said.

Although a driver is presumed intoxicated by the state when his or her blood alcohol content is .08, police can charge a driver with DUI at lower BAC levels if the consumption of alcohol has impaired his or her ability to drive.

If convicted, Watson faces two days to 12 months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

School board member Bill Shiflet said a disciplinary hearing had originally been scheduled for Monday prior to Watson’s resignation.

A Register-Herald request for a full copy of Watson’s resignation and apology letter was denied by school officials.

School officials also said Watson had an unlisted phone number. It is uncertain if Watson has hired an attorney to represent him in the criminal case.

Shiflet said Watson’s letters did not specifically mention what type or how much alcohol he had consumed prior to taking the wheel of the bus.

When asked what liability Watson’s actions may have caused the county, Shiflet was unsure.

“It’s a very tragic event and we are very thankful that no one was injured,” Shiflet said by phone. “It certainly could have been a lot worse than it was.”

Your Author Confronted on Street Regarding Monroe County Bus Accident

Yet another update regarding the Monroe County School Bus DUI Case: a well-known local citizen approached me on the street this morning and criticized my comments regarding the driver of the now-infamous DUI School Bus as being too harsh.

I will reiterate what I told him in case there are others who feel my comments were too harsh. My initial reaction was perhaps too harsh given that subsequent mitigating information was released regarding a possible medical condition that may have caused the accident. Furthermore, I initially read the Register-Herald article as stating that he had a BAC of “.22″ when in fact it was “.022″ – which is obviously a big difference. For this reason, I subsequently redacted my initial comments and provided an update with the new information on this Blog.

The point is, that if I was mistaken about the facts, then I agree that my language was too harsh and I apologize. If the driver had not been drinking, then I was wrong in using such strong language. Although, anyone who has previously driven off a 120 cliff while driving a school bus filled with children – whether drunk or not – should not be given a second chance to drive children around on mountain roads. So, to a certain extent, it doesn’t matter whether he was intoxicated or not. The fact is that it happened, and it can’t be attributed to icy roads.

However – and this is a big however – if he had been drinking, then I stand by my comments 100%. I don’t care if the driver of the bus is Mother Theresa, I will side with the children 100% of the time. If that man got behind the wheel of that bus, putting the lives of 11 innocent children at risk, then he deserves nothing less than 11 years in prison (1 year for each child), plus lifetime revocation of his license. My opinion may be unpopular to the friends and family of the driver, but I base my opinion on principle, not public opinion.

After I told this to the aforesaid citizen who confronted me on the street, he replied that, “well he did do it – he already resigned, but you shouldn’t say things that are mean.” Let it be known from here forward, if you recklessly or negligently hurt innocent children in my community, then I will write “mean” things about you on this Blog. – John H. Bryan

See update here.