Arizona truck driver distracted by TikTok videos receives over 20 years in prison for fatal accident

PHOENIX – A truck driver who killed five people in Arizona last year when he caused a crash while distracted by watching TikTok videos has been sentenced to more than two decades in prison, authorities announced Monday.

Danny Tiner, 38, was sentenced Friday to 22 ⅟₂ years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of involuntary manslaughter, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and the Arizona Department of Public Safety said in separate statements Monday. Tiner was driving a tractor-trailer that caused the fatal crash on Jan. 12, 2023, in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 in Chandler, Arizona, a city southeast of Phoenix.

Authorities said the six-vehicle crash involved two commercial trucks. At the time of the crash, a portion of Interstate 10 was closed due to an earlier crash involving multiple semi-trucks.

Tiner was arrested on June 29, 2023, after he was finally found guilty following a lengthy investigation. He was taken to jail on $300,000 bail and initially faced several charges, including five counts of manslaughter, four counts of endangerment, and one count of tampering with evidence.

According to court documents, Tiner pleaded guilty to five counts of involuntary manslaughter. He will serve a sentence of 4 ⅟₂ years for each of those counts, for a total of 22 ⅟₂ years. He will receive credit for 415 days of time served in prison.

Investigations revealed that Danny Tiner was distracted by social media

Tiner said he received a message on his work electronic tablet and went to look at it, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said at the time of Tiner's arrest. When he looked up again, traffic had come to a standstill, but he was unable to stop in time to avoid a collision.

The police department said its officers suspected driver distraction as a possible factor in the crash. During the investigation, officers determined that Tiner was driving at 68 mph in a construction zone posted for 55 mph while “actively using the TikTok application on his cellphone at the time of the collision,” according to the department.

The agency added that the incident was the first case in the agency's history in which a driver was convicted of causing a fatal accident while distracted by social media.

“As a driver, you have a duty to pay attention to the road. Choosing to access social media while driving and risking the lives of others is reckless,” Maricopa County District Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement. “Five families are experiencing the pain of losing a loved one. While the legal system can never ease that pain, it can hold those responsible accountable. We have achieved that goal.”

Contributor: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared in the Arizona Republic: Inattentive trucker faces decades in prison after fatal accident in Arizona