Truck driver convicted in fatal Wythe County, Texas Truck Wreck
May 9, 2013A Texas truck driver was given one year in jail this week after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a fatal truck wreck in Wythe County. According to the story, Donald Ray Alexander, 46, of Houston, pleaded guilty to the felony charge on May 1 in Wythe County Circuit Court, but he wasn’t sentenced until Tuesday, May 7.
As part of a plea agreement with the commonwealth, Alexander was given a 10-year sentence with all but one year suspended. Alexander will be on supervised probation for three years after his release and was ordered to pay $1,060 in court costs. According to court records, Alexander was charged after a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 77 at the 44 mile marker.
A state trooper said that Alexander tried to turn his tractor-trailer around in a crossover reserved for authorized personnel and was struck by a southbound Chevrolet Sonic driven by 56-year-old John Wesley Schrader of Hillsville, who was killed in the approximately 6:40 p.m. crash.
Alexander was allegedly working for a company called T-Energy for a month at the time of the truck wreck. According to the report, Alexander has a criminal history that includes allegations of domestic violence, manufacturing or delivering crack cocaine, marijuana possession, driving under the influence, driving on a suspended license, aggravated assault causing bodily injury and evading arrest, according to his bond paperwork. The full story can be read here.