July 24, 2006
TRUCKING COMPANY OWNER CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER

Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The owner of a dump truck that slammed into a line of cars at the bottom of Avon Mountain last year, killing four people, appeared in court Monday to face manslaughter and other charges.

David Wilcox, 71, who ran Bloomfield-based American Crushing & Recycling, and his son, Shaun, 25, were arraigned in Hartford Superior Court and later posted bail. They are expected back in court on Aug. 1.

An arrest warrant affidavit said Wilcox and his son "conspired to allow the operation of the vehicles," specifically the truck involved in the accident, "despite its poor mechanical condition."

Both men were arrested at the elder Wilcox's home in Windsor Sunday night. Shaun Wilcox was charged with evidence tampering, conspiracy to commit evidence tampering and hindering prosecution.

In addition to four counts of manslaughter, David Wilcox was charged with assault, tampering with evidence, fabricating evidence, interfering with police and 23 motor vehicle violations.

The allegations include having defective brake parts on the truck, which went out of control while heading westbound down Avon Mountain on July 29, 2005, and slammed into 19 other vehicles that were stopped for a traffic signal in Avon.

The fiery crash killed four people and injured 10 others. Those killed included the truck's driver, Abdul Raheem Naafi, 41, who worked for American Crushing. He had been fired from another company three days before the accident for improper operation of a vehicle.

The others killed - Maureen Edlund, 60, of Canton; Barbara Bongiovanni, 54, of Torrington; and Paul "Chip" Stotler, 42, of New Hartford - were in cars.

An inspection of the dump truck after the crash by investigators with the Department of Motor Vehicles and Avon police found more than 20 equipment violations that existed before the accident, including brake problems. Avon police said the truck should not have been allowed on the road until repairs were made.

Investigators believe a "catastrophic" brake system malfunction and problems with the clutch system led to the crash.

Shaun Wilcox's lawyer, Gerald Klein, said he is confident he will "resolve this without a conviction."

David Wilcox is free on $200,000 bail and Shaun is free on $20,000 bond.

Messages seeking comment were left with David Wilcox's lawyer, Hubert Santos.

"We're very pleased to see Wilcox is being held responsible for some pretty atrocious acts of negligence," said Michael Stratton, the lawyer for Stotler's family.

Stratton, who is suing the trucking company and plans to sue the state, said the government has not accepted responsibility for what he called unsafe road grading on Avon Mountain and the truck's history of motor vehicle violations.

"The state is trying to make Wilcox the front-and-center scapegoat for the entire cause of this accident and I don't think that's fair," Stratton said.

The affidavit also said Lee Alfano, a mechanic who worked for Wilcox, told investigators he saw Shaun Wilcox tear up repair orders, including one that noted a bad brake on the truck involved in the crash, after the accident.

Alfano said he, another mechanic and David and Shaun Wilcox made new repair slips to show minor problems, the affidavit said.

David and Donna Wilcox were charged last year with attempted insurance fraud, attempted larceny and conspiracy to commit larceny.

Prosecutors say that just after the crash, Donna Wilcox phoned an insurance company and asked to have liability coverage restored on 12 trucks, among them the dump truck involved in the wreck. Authorities say she wanted coverage, which had been dropped in January 2005, to be retroactive to July 1, 2005.

That prompted state lawmakers to toughen the penalties for truck owners who operate without insurance.

David Wilcox has a criminal record. He was most recently convicted in 1998 of interfering with police. He also was convicted of disorderly conduct in 1982; assault in 1977; and assault in 1956. He either paid fines or served probation.

American Crushing & Recycling was essentially put out of business earlier this year when a judge ruled that the company's assets could be auctioned off to compensate victims of the crash.

The company's assets sold for $1.6 million earlier this summer. But after legal fees and other expenses, only about $400,000 was left over for compensation for the victims.

The state is also planning improvements to Route 44 on Avon Mountain.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press