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Williams v. Commonwealth8/19/2005
AFFIRMING
BEFORE: KNOPF, TAYLOR, AND VANMETER, JUDGES.
On March 31, 2004 a judgment of conviction and sentence was entered finding George Williams (Williams) guilty on three counts of reckless homicide and sentencing him to five years on each count to run consecutively. The convictions arise out of an incident occurring on June 23, 2003 when a coal auger Williams was hauling on U.S. Route 23 in Pike County, Kentucky came off the low boy truck he was driving and struck two cars with three persons, all of whom died as a result. On appeal Williams raises five arguments for reversal of his conviction and sentence. We affirm.
Williams was employed by JZ Trucking, Inc. and had been instructed to go to a site in Lawrence County, disassemble the 32-ton coal auger and haul it to an Island Creek Coal Company site in Pike County. It took several days to disassemble the auger and Williams was assisted by others in this endeavor. Williams drove the auger to Pike County on June 20, 2003 and parked the truck with its load in town for the weekend.
On Monday, June 23, 2003, Williams, along with several other people, met to drive the auger to the Island Creek Coal Company site. The other individuals accompanied Williams in other vehicles -- Williams operated the low boy alone.
49 CFR 393.106, adopted by Kentucky through 601 KAR 1:005 Section 2, requires a certain number of chains be used to secure a load such as the coal auger in this case. The number of chains depends upon the weight of the load and the strength of the chains. There is a dispute in this case regarding how many chains were used to secure the auger and how many were necessary. Four chains were found after the incident and the Commonwealth's evidence is that this number is insufficient to secure the load.
While transporting the auger on U.S. Route 23 in Pike County, Williams lost control of the low boy truck and the auger broke free of the chains, coming off the truck and hitting oncoming traffic. It hit a vehicle driven by Carolyn Adkins and killed her instantly. It also hit a truck with brothers-in-law Larry Smallwood and Dudley Williams causing the truck to burst into flames and also killing the truck's occupants.
How Williams lost control and the accident occurred is disputed by the parties. Williams claims a wooden crib block on the driver's side of the truck, being used to prevent the auger from resting directly on the truck's tires , "exploded" and caused slack in one of the binder chains. The load shifted causing the chains holding the auger to snap and releasing it from the truck bed. The Commonwealth, on the other hand, claims Williams was exceeding the speed limit, took a curve too fast, grazed the median on the four-lane highway and started to lose control. He then locked up his brakes, skidded 1131/2 feet, and the truck fish tailed. These events caused the chains holding the auger to snap and break free into oncoming traffic.
After the incident media coverage of the event contained false reports of drug or alcohol use being involved in the accident. Further articles highlighted DUI charges in Williams' past and the trucking company's woes involving drivers it employed.
Williams contends a fair and impartial jury could not be impaneled and the court should have granted his motion for a change of venue. He bases this argument on several things: (1) the media coverage (newspaper, radio, and television) was pervasive up to the time of the trial in January 2004. The accounts were prejudicial and related inaccurate information (drug and/or alcohol use) not admitted at trial. (2) Of the potential venire persons called, only three had
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