On April 16, 2008, the driver of a tractor-trailer was sentenced to 6 months in jail and 5 years probation for causing a fatal auto accident in Columbia County, Wisconsin.

The tractor trailer was backing down Highway 51 onto Maas Road, which created the illusion that he was traveling in the correct direction. An 82-year-old man and his 22-year-old grandson were returning from a Wisconsin Badgers basketball game when their car collided with the tractor-trailer and slid underneath it. The 82-year-old grandfather was killed instantly. His grandson survived with only minor injuries.

The 49-year-old tractor-trailer driver changed his story several times and initially resisted police officers. His sentence comes as part of a plea bargain in which he agreed to plead guilty to homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle. The truck driver will also be required to donate $250 per year to a fund commemorating the man he killed.

Source: “Trucker sentenced for accident that killed Poynette man,” WISCNEWS.com, April 16, 2008.