On May 6, 2013, Juan Espinoza, a commercial trucker, slammed into the rear of several parked police and fire vehicles which had responded to an earlier roadside accident. Although the weather was clear, the roadway was straight and level, and the accident site was in the desert with no sources of distraction, Espinoza never slowed his vehicle or attempted to change lanes before slamming into the back of the parked cars at 65 mph. How did this happen? Why did Espinoza fail to see and avoid the parked police and fire vehicles? He was on Facebook, using his cell phone to view pictures of “scantily clad women.” Espinoza reportedly told police he was distracted by a passing vehicle, but his dash cam video shows this claim was not true, and review of his cell phone records reportedly confirmed that he was on Facebook at the time of the crash.
An Arizona police officer was killed in the tragic accident. Espinoza is now facing multiple criminal charges, including murder in connection with the crash. A portion of the dash cam video of this dramatic crash can be seen on the ABC website here.
