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Truck driver charged

  • BlvdCruiser
    • 2068 posts
    April 7, 2010 1:37 AM PDT

    http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/dpgos-truck-driver-arrest-km-20100406_6943134 size="2"> Truck Driver Charged in Fatal Motorcycle Crash Updated: Tuesday, 06 Apr 2010, 10:22 PM EDT Published : Tuesday, 06 Apr 2010, 8:02 PM EDT

    (myFOXphoenix.Com) - The dump truck driver responsible for the deaths for four motorcyclists has been arrested after toxicology results found methamphetamine was in his system on the day of the crash.

    46-year-old Michael Jakscht is being charged with 4 counts of manslaughter, 5 counts of aggravated assault, and 7 counts of endangerment. He is being booked into the Maricopa County Jail.

    Phoenix Police say that Jakscht was driving the truck that plowed through a group of eight motorcycles stopped at a red light at Carefree Hwy and 27th Ave back on March 25.

    Three men caught under the truck and dragged were killed almost instantly. They were 67-year-old Clyde R. Nachand, 35-year-old Daniel L. Butler, and 52-year-old Stephen Punch. A female driver, 47-year-old Dayle Veronica Downs-Totonchi, died the next day from her injuries.

    Phoenix Fire Captain Ernie Lizarraga was also one of the several victims seriously injured.

    Officers arrested Jakscht Tuesday in the area of Highland and State Route 51.

    Jakscht was being watched at his residence in Scottsdale. The surveillance team saw him leave and he was stopped by officers who observed impaired driving behavior.

    Jakscht has been under surveillance ever since the fatal crash, as police waited for toxicology test results. The test results were completed in record time and illegal drugs -- methamphetamine -- were found present in Jakscht's system, according to police.

    Crime lab tests usually take between 4 to 6 weeks, but police made this test a priority and it was completed in two.

    There are possible charges pending for impaired driving.

    The accident is still under investigation.


  • hgsc90
    April 7, 2010 1:56 AM PDT
    Just get it all right with all dots and crosses done..
  • Cathy
    • 1 posts
    April 7, 2010 2:17 AM PDT
    Thank you for sharing.  The wheels of justice are in motion.
  • Deleted Member
    April 7, 2010 2:20 AM PDT
    I had been watching for an update on this and if they were going to charger the driver. Thanks!
  • Knucklehead
    April 7, 2010 4:30 AM PDT
    I am just glad they got this guy off the road for good. Impaired again? I think they should throw away the keys on this piece of garbage.
  • Deleted Member
    April 7, 2010 4:38 AM PDT
    Since the truck drivers x-wife is a motorcycle enthusiest I guess that makes him a Biker too, lord knows No Bikers ever do meth. or ride intoxicated just a little bit. There's alot of folks on the road doing meth. I find it hard to believe thats the cause of the accident though. There's got to be alot more to this story than this.
  • DebraJo
    • Moderator
    • 1516 posts
    April 7, 2010 4:39 AM PDT
    Maricopa County - isn't that where they did that documentary about that prison out in the desert where the guys live in tents in 110 degree weather and have to wear pink? Seems pretty fitting if it is!
  • Deleted Member
    April 7, 2010 4:45 AM PDT
    Thats near Area 51 ain't it?............. damn Martians.............
  • DebraJo
    • Moderator
    • 1516 posts
    April 7, 2010 4:58 AM PDT
    Flatlander wrote...
    Since the truck drivers x-wife is a motorcycle enthusiest I guess that makes him a Biker too, lord knows No Bikers ever do meth. or ride intoxicated just a little bit. There's alot of folks on the road doing meth. I find it hard to believe thats the cause of the accident though. There's got to be alot more to this story than this.


    I guess it would depend on how many days he had been up, and how much Meth was in his blood.
  • Deleted Member
    • 1064 posts
    April 7, 2010 5:03 AM PDT
    Flatlander, it kind of seems like you have a warm fuzzy feeling for this truck driver. Whats up ? The guy was obviously not paying attention to his operation of that truck. How could you not see [ 8 ] bikes in front of you. I don't care whether the guy was on drugs or not. He WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION, or the crash would not have happened!!!
  • Deleted Member
    April 7, 2010 5:10 AM PDT
    To me these few published facts about what happened are just unbelievable. If he was intoxicated to the point of crashing into so many vehicles and dragging them 50-75 yards before coming to a stop you would think the Police would have cuffed him and buried his ass UNDER the jail at the accident. That just don't happen in the real world without brake or throttle failure on the truck.
  • Deleted Member
    April 7, 2010 5:21 AM PDT
    i hope the test results rushed as they say will not create a problem .. and let this person walk.....i still don't understand why this perosn was ale to leave after the accident ..... to me it should have been.. cuff and stuff....right from the start..
  • Deleted Member
    April 7, 2010 5:27 AM PDT
    I think charging him with four counts of "Vehicular Homicide" would be more appropriate!
  • Deleted Member
    • 1770 posts
    April 7, 2010 5:59 AM PDT
    Hollywood wrote...
    Flatlander, it kind of seems like you have a warm fuzzy feeling for this truck driver. Whats up ? The guy was obviously not paying attention to his operation of that truck. How could you not see [ 8 ] bikes in front of you. I don't care whether the guy was on drugs or not. He WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION, or the crash would not have happened!!!



    Man I have to roll with Hollywood on this one........Seems like Flatlander has prepaired this truck drivers defense for him. I'm more than sure all the legal personnel in the Phoniex area know what the hell there doing. Doesn't matter if the driver was impaired from drugs, getting a blow job, or just to many hours behind the wheel he failed to control his vehicle, pretty much end of story! Yes he will have to live with this the rest of his life, hopefully he may become a better person or something positive can come from this for him, but he killed 4 people for Christ sake.
    Night Dragon
  • Deleted Member
    • 1040 posts
    April 7, 2010 6:07 AM PDT
    Maybwe Flatlanders own past in the area of vehicular tradgadies involving the death of innocent people who died as a result of stupidity and ignorance has clouded Flatlander's judgement and Flatlander's ghosts haunt him...Just sayin; just a thought.
  • Deleted Member
    April 7, 2010 6:10 AM PDT
    nightdragon wrote...
    Hollywood wrote...
    Flatlander, it kind of seems like you have a warm fuzzy feeling for this truck driver. Whats up ? The guy was obviously not paying attention to his operation of that truck. How could you not see [ 8 ] bikes in front of you. I don't care whether the guy was on drugs or not. He WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION, or the crash would not have happened!!!



    Man I have to roll with Hollywood on this one........Seems like Flatlander has prepaired this truck drivers defense for him. I'm more than sure all the legal personnel in the Phoniex area know what the hell there doing. Doesn't matter if the driver was impaired from drugs, getting a blow job, or just to many hours behind the wheel he failed to control his vehicle, pretty much end of story! Yes he will have to live with this the rest of his life, hopefully he may become a better person or something positive can come from this for him, but he killed 4 people for Christ sake.
    Night Dragon


      The moment we get behind the wheel as well as on the bike, we assume responsibility.  End of story.  If he did a Pre-Trip Insp., then maybe mechanical failure would have been addressed in the yard.  I believe that what he told the witness, "...shuffling papers" is true.  First rule of thumb is to keep one's mouth shut, but he just slayed innocent people.  I would imagine this poor bastard is going to have to be placed on suicide watch.  The demons will be wrestling with him.  Yes, to truly have the lives of those taken from us honored, I pray something good can come of this. 
    This man will carry this in his soul.  My life is difficult and I have had my addictions as well and only by the Grace of God, I do not know what it feels like to be in this man's shoes.
  • Cathy
    • 1 posts
    April 7, 2010 6:12 AM PDT
    ....and the light was red. 
  • Deleted Member
    • 1064 posts
    April 7, 2010 6:39 AM PDT
    Folks, all i am saying is, if the man were watching what the Hell he was doing, even in event of mechanical failure he could have reacted, and possibly prevented this crash. I will not refer to it as an accident, because it most probably could have been prevented. Like i said before, those bikes were not backing up!!!! I will get off my soap box now. It just pisses me off when people die or are critically injured because someone does not do their job. I have been walking on a peg-leg for 36 yrs. now, because someone did not do their damned job!!! End of story!
  • Deleted Member
    April 7, 2010 6:58 AM PDT
    Again it happens - cager smacks bike(s) - I didn't see them attitude - bottom line somebodys dead and somebodys gonna pay - wheels of justice are slow but I hope they don't let this slide; all to often a laywer will get the prep off on a technically and the two wheelers eat it again. Depends on the PD and proscuter in that area and how they see bikers.
  • rory1
    • 601 posts
    April 7, 2010 7:59 AM PDT
    An emotional subject, I think let the lawmen do what the lawmen do best. Emotions running strong makes for bad law.... just my 2cts, its an opinion from far across the sea.
  • bullmoose
    April 7, 2010 11:04 AM PDT
    nightdragon wrote...
    Hollywood wrote...
    Flatlander, it kind of seems like you have a warm fuzzy feeling for this truck driver. Whats up ? The guy was obviously not paying attention to his operation of that truck. How could you not see [ 8 ] bikes in front of you. I don't care whether the guy was on drugs or not. He WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION, or the crash would not have happened!!!



    Man I have to roll with Hollywood on this one........Seems like Flatlander has prepaired this truck drivers defense for him. I'm more than sure all the legal personnel in the Phoniex area know what the hell there doing. Doesn't matter if the driver was impaired from drugs, getting a blow job, or just to many hours behind the wheel he failed to control his vehicle, pretty much end of story! Yes he will have to live with this the rest of his life, hopefully he may become a better person or something positive can come from this for him, but he killed 4 people for Christ sake.
    Night Dragon

    ounce again Dragon you hit it right on the head

  • Motomalissa
    April 7, 2010 11:23 AM PDT
    While life never really is cut and dry, the subject matter of this "accident" is. Like Dragon said, there is no excuse that explains rear ending someone except unforeseen gross mechanical failure. NO EXCUSE. We all take responsibility for our ability to drive and control our vehicles every time we choose to get in/on one. Not sure why Flatlander has chosen to step on this particular soap box once again.......a bit disturbing really. In the end we all have to live with our choices.
  • wolfhound
    April 7, 2010 12:11 PM PDT
    bullmoose wrote...
    nightdragon wrote...
    Hollywood wrote...
    Flatlander, it kind of seems like you have a warm fuzzy feeling for this truck driver. Whats up ? The guy was obviously not paying attention to his operation of that truck. How could you not see [ 8 ] bikes in front of you. I don't care whether the guy was on drugs or not. He WAS NOT PAYING ATTENTION, or the crash would not have happened!!!



    Man I have to roll with Hollywood on this one........Seems like Flatlander has prepaired this truck drivers defense for him. I'm more than sure all the legal personnel in the Phoniex area know what the hell there doing. Doesn't matter if the driver was impaired from drugs, getting a blow job, or just to many hours behind the wheel he failed to control his vehicle, pretty much end of story! Yes he will have to live with this the rest of his life, hopefully he may become a better person or something positive can come from this for him, but he killed 4 people for Christ sake.
    Night Dragon

    ounce again Dragon you hit it right on the head
    He will have to live the rest of his life with what he has caused.He made the choice and now will have a long time to think about it. That others have suffered and died because of it is the real tragedy. Our thoughts  continue to be for and with those who have suffered from this situation! We all understand that we could have been the ones hit in another time or place. Please be careful out there everyone.
  • Deleted Member
    April 7, 2010 12:52 PM PDT
    our legal system is screwed, but this time it appears to be actually working. one less loose nut behind the wheel. it is a shame that people had to pay an ultimate price to reach this end. my sympathies go out to the families. nowhere/no one else. badinfluence
  • Deleted Member
    April 7, 2010 1:40 PM PDT
    I don't really get involved in matters like this, but since I ride a bike, and I am an ex-truck driver for many years... you all can rest assured if they found meth in his system, his ass will go down twice as hard as the normal person with a regular driver's license, because a CDL (Professional driver's license) punishment for this is 3 times worse, and we all have seen the sight of the accident... it was clear... the intersection was all stopped... and anybody with any Sense watching the road from a whole block away had to have looked at the damn road, and dump truck (trash truck) are not required to have logs, so nobody knows how long he had actually been on the road. The Short of the Story is... They Will Hang His Ass As He Needs To Be!!!!! As for the members of CycleFish and all other motorcyclists out there... Please Stay Safe, keep your eye on your rearview mirror for DumbAsses like this one, and keep the Shiny Side Up!!  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families of this Senseless Tragedy!! 

    PS:  The real truth of the matter is all these trucking companies, are 90% of the problem... a person can go to school for 6 weeks... and come out a driving Instructor!!  Now people, that's an inexperienced instructor teaching someone who has never driven a truck hauling 80,000 pounds... that is very, very Crazy!!  As I was on the road for years, and learned something new everyday... You can bet your Ass if you see a JB Hunt / Swift / Schneider and numerous other Big companies trucks on the road... when the driver started they had less than 1 to 2 months driving experience... so you all think about that the next time you pull up beside one of these trucks.