BENSON – A Garner truck driver who caused a deadly 10 vehicle crash on Interstate 40 in Johnston County pled guilty to the charges this week. On August 29, 2018, four people were killed and several others seriously injured.
The State Highway Patrol said William O’Neal was operating a Freightliner truck hauling lumber eastbound on I-40. O’Neal slammed into the back of several cars that were stopped on the interstate due to congestion. Two of the 10 vehicles burst into flames after being hit.
Michael Peters of Youngsville, NC; McRoy and Josephine Skipper of Georgetown, SC; and Sherry Allen of Four Oaks were killed.
Officials said O’Neal was not impaired or speeding at the time of the crash, but failed to reduce speed to avoid the collision. There were no mechanical defects found with the Freightliner, rather the defendant’s lack of braking caused the chain reaction crash.
O’Neal was indicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, for injuries sustained by John Watkins, Sr. and Daksha Gala.
The trial was set to begin on Monday, July 10, 2023, in Johnston County Superior Court. Senior Assistant District Attorney Paul Jackson represented to the Court that the case was ready for trial and witnesses and victims were present. Before a jury was empaneled, the defendant, represented by Smithfield attorney Michael Reece, changed his plea to guilty. Without any plea bargain in place, William O’Neal pleaded guilty to all six felony charges.
Mr. Jackson presented a summary of the case and members of the victims’ families were given an opportunity to be heard in front of Superior Court Judge Dawn Layton from Richmond County.
Ms. Rosemary Peters, who survived the crash that killed her husband Michael, described feeling the intense impact of their vehicle being struck and her husband turning the steering wheel at the last moment to take the brunt of the force. Another victim, Mr. Watkins, spoke about how thankful he was to survive the crash, but his day-to-day life will never be the same.
Family members of all the victims recounted learning about the horrific nature of the crash, how the loss of loved ones has affected their lives, and their individual struggles to figure out why O’Neal caused this avoidable crash.
Victims and their family members requested Judge Layton impose an active sentence for the defendant. Instead, Judge Layton sentenced William O’Neal to six consecutive suspended sentences, ranging from 15-27 months to 17-33 months. O’Neal was placed on supervised probation for 36 months.
As a condition of his probation, O’Neal was ordered not to operate a motor vehicle under any circumstances.
Mr. Jackson and the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office acknowledge the horrific nature of the crash, respect the grieving process the families are still going through, and hope the conclusion of the criminal case can bring a sense of relief to the victims and their families.
“We will continue to aggressively prosecute those individuals who commit criminal acts on our highways that put the safety of all our citizens in jeopardy,” Assistant District Attorney Paul Jackson stated.
There is no justice in the justice system when it comes to car accidents. The same accident plus one beer would have led to years in prison. Im glad Oneal didn’t go to prison but it’s ridiculous how unevenly the law is applied
Supervised probation for 3 years, no jail time for killing 4 people. Like WTH is going on with our justice system.
What’s O’Neal’s immigration status?!?!? Too many illegals driving our roads! Building the wall would have prevented this, right?
I don’t think having one beer would have changed the outcome. His alcohol content would have been negligible. He was not impaired, he made a terrible, terrible mistake, and took responsibility for it. I feel so awful for the families, and the people who lost their lives, but jail time was not the answer. I think the judge got this right.
Obviously if they didn’t say nothing about his legal status he’s legal u sack of rocks @tell the truth.