Truck driver who used TikTok while causing deadly Chandler crash gets 22.5 years in prison
Aug 19, 2024, 2:00 PM
PHOENIX – A truck driver who was using TikTok while causing a deadly crash in Chandler last year was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison, authorities announced Monday.
Danny Glen Tiner, 38, was ordered to serve five consecutive sentences of 4.5 years each last week after pleading guilty in June to five counts of negligent homicide, according to court records. When his prison term started Friday, he had credit for 415 days in custody.
GPS data showed Tiner’s tractor-trailer was traveling 68 mph in a 55 mph construction zone before the six-vehicle pileup on Interstate 10 near Chandler Boulevard on Jan. 12, 2024, according to prosecutors.
Additionally, digital forensic data showed that Tiner was actively using TikTok on his cellphone at the time of deadly crash in Chandler.
What happened on day of deadly crash in Chandler?
Five people trapped inside two burning passenger vehicles died in the predawn wreck, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
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Troopers said Tiner’s semi slammed into traffic that was backed up from a previous crash.
Phoenix Fire Department crews worked for two hours to put out the blaze after the deadly crash in Chandler, which included hazardous materials.
The remnants of the vehicles were so damaged by the fire that troopers initially thought there were only three or four of them.
I-10 was closed for nearly 11 hours for the cleanup and investigation.
“As a driver, you have an obligation to pay attention to the road. To choose to access social media while driving, placing the lives of others on the line, is reckless,” Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a press release Monday. “Five families are living through the pain of losing a loved one. While the justice system can never relieve that pain, it can hold the person responsible accountable.”
