Trucker Logs Questioned In Trooper Crash
Tennessee authorities are asking federal transportation officials to investigate a truck driver whose rig struck a Tennessee Highway Patrol cruiser.
The trooper inside the parked police car remained in critical condition at a Knoxville hospital. The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/AvGlNt ) reported Sgt. Lowell Russell squeezed Gov. Bill Haslam’s hand and winked during an impromptu hospital visit on Wednesday.
Court records cited by the newspaper stated truck driver Eric D. Lewis of Orlando, Fla., told police he fell asleep not long before the crash early Tuesday and stopped long enough to splash water onto his face.
THP Sgt. Randall Martin said investigators found inconsistencies in Lewis’ logbook about how many hours he had been driving and sleeping.
Lewis was charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, as well as misdemeanor citations.
