Texting while driving a dump truck: Man sentenced in fatal crash
The man told police he was texting on his phone when his dump truck crashed into a Ford Ranger pickup.
A Florida man who was texting when the dump truck he was driving crashed into and crushed a pickup truck in New Smyrna Beach, killing its driver, was sentenced to eight years in prison as part of a plea agreement.
Jesse Sauter, 35, must also serve seven years' probation after he is released. He received credit for 118 days' time served in the Volusia County Branch Jail.
Sauter pleaded no contest to several charges, including vehicular homicide and careless operation of a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license resulting in death. Sauter was adjudicated guilty of the charges.
Circuit Judge A. Kathleen McNeilly presided over the hearing on March 31 at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand.
What happened in the crash
Sauter was driving a dump trunk pulling a trailer loaded with a wheel loader/tractor when he crashed into the back of a Ford Ranger pickup truck stopped at a red light at State Road 44 and Colony Park Road in New Smyrna Beach at 3:20 p.m. on May 24, 2022, according to police.
Kirk Beres, 48, the driver of the Ford Ranger, died two days after the accident as a result of injuries suffered in the crash. Another person was seriously injured.
The crash led to a chain reaction involving four other vehicles.
Firefighters had to call in a crane to lift the dump truck off the Ford Ranger.
The dump truck and trailer were owned by Tucker’s Bobcat Services of Orange City, according to a previous News-Journal story.
New Smyrna Beach Police Lt. Brandon M. Mechtel stated in a deposition that Sauter told police he was texting his bosses about the estimated arrival time to his next job site.
Mechtel said police checked Sauter’s cellphone and found that his text message was interrupted in the middle, which he said appeared to confirm Sauter’s account.
Mechtel said Sauter tried to swerve prior to the crash. He said Sauter estimated he was going 45 mph which was the speed in the area.
Tests also determined that Sauter had methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system at the time of the fatal crash, according to court records.
Additionally, while out on bond on the case, Sauter tested positive for amphetamine, an affidavit of violation filed Jan. 24 states, according to a motion to revoke bond filed by Assistant State Attorney Michael Willard on Feb. 4. Sauter was arrested and booked into the county jail Feb. 11.
New Smyrna Beach Police also learned during their investigation that Sauter had been driving the truck when it was involved in a crash on April 15, 2022. Sauter told troopers he had dropped his cellphone and was distracted as he tried to pick it up when he rear-ended two vehicles stopped at a red light at Spring Garden and Beresford avenues, according to the previous story. Sauter was cited for careless driving.