Arizona truck driver sentenced for fatal accident while watching TikTok

A truck driver who was watching TikTok when he caused a fatal crash in Arizona last year has been sentenced to more than 22 years in prison, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

The driver, 38-year-old Danny Glen Tiner, was driving a tractor-trailer on Interstate 10 in Chandler, southeast of Phoenix, on Jan. 12, 2023, when he failed to stop for a traffic jam, prosecutors said.

Tiner, traveling at 68 miles per hour in a 55-mile per hour construction zone, subsequently caused a collision with six vehicles, some of which caught fire.

Five people were found dead at the scene of the accident.

Tiner initially told authorities he was checking a message on his work tablet when he noticed the stopped traffic too late to avoid a collision, but an FBI analysis of his phone later revealed he was actively using TikTok at the time of the accident.

Tiner eventually pleaded guilty to five counts of negligent homicide. Each count carried a prison sentence of four and a half years, to be served consecutively.

“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,” said Maricopa County District Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Five families are experiencing the pain of losing a loved one.”

The victims of the fatal crash included four men who worked together at Arizona-based AAA Landscaping: Andrew Standifird, Gilberto Franco, Jerardo Vazquez and Willis Thompson. Another driver, Ryan Gooding, also died in the collision.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety said this was the first case in which a driver was convicted of causing a fatal crash while distracted by social media.