Quantcast
Jump to content
  • Join the TowForce community.

    It looks like you're not logged in. Register to get started and to receive Tower Down Notices.

Tow Truck Struck - 01.22.22 (ND) "Updated 08.12.22"


TowNews

Recommended Posts

This scenario seems unbelievable as details reported by the news don’t tell the entire story. You can bet there will be plenty of lessons to be learned here … some that will challenge the meaning of SDMO. From face value, I foresee some of the issues being: 1. Leaving a disabled vehicle parked in a live lane and not identified (if that actually happened?) Most motorists have enough common sense to get their slowing vehicle to an emergency shoulder. 2. Over-head ambers on or off? 3. Triangles or flares set? 4. Running lights on or not? 5. Four-way flasher’s on or off? 6. Operating on a suspended license? (Note: To confuse the issue, tower allegedly wasn’t driving the carrier when it was impacted; counter, so, how did it get there?) Did the operator cause the crash? Make your own conclusions. This is one case to follow for sure.      R. 

 

Randall C. Resch

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Man who left tow truck on interstate before deadly crash gets 2 more driving under suspension charges

 

If convicted, Mario Butler could face up to a year in jail for the Ward County charges. Cass County prosecutors are deciding whether he should face charges for the Tower City crash that left one dead and three seriously injured.

 

cdn.forumcomm.webp

 

FARGO — A Minot man who left his tow truck on an interstate in Cass County before a vehicle crashed into it has been accused twice of driving with a suspended license since the crash, a pattern that dates back nearly a decade.

 

Mario Dewayne Butler, 43, faces two Class A misdemeanors in Ward County District Court — one each for traffic stops on April 1 and May 31. The two charges would make for his fourth and fifth driving under suspension counts in five years in North Dakota if convicted, meaning he could face almost a year in jail for each count.

 

Prosecutors are reviewing whether Butler should face charges for his part in a Jan. 22 crash near Tower City, North Dakota. After experiencing mechanical issues around 9 p.m. that day, Butler left his 1997 International flatbed tow truck in the right westbound lane of Interstate 94 about 3 miles east of the small town, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol.

 

Butler had called a tow truck but received a ride from a motorist before assistance arrived, state troopers said. It is unknown if emergency lights on his vehicle were activated.

 

Timothy Hagerott, of Bismarck, struck Butler’s tow truck from behind with a 2017 GMC Yukon, a news release said. The crash killed Hagerott’s wife, Kelli. It also seriously injured Hagerott and his two daughters.

 

Butler’s license was suspended at the time of the crash, according to state records obtained by The Forum. Butler has six driving under suspension convictions on his record since 2013 in North Dakota.

 

In all instances, he either got time served or no jail time.

 

He also has multiple counts of driving without vehicle insurance.

 

It’s unclear why Butler’s license was suspended.

 

Timothy Hagerott also appears to be under investigation. He told investigators he heard or felt his phone vibrate before the crash and looked down “for a second” to check the notification, a search warrant said.

 

When he looked up, the tow truck was directly in front of him, the warrant said. It also noted there was no evidence of Timothy Hagerott hitting his brakes.

 

State troopers investigated information about his potential cellphone use moments before the crash, the warrant said. The warrant did not disclose the details of the data obtained.

 

Timothy Hagerott has no traffic violations or criminal charges on his North Dakota record. He and North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott are cousins.

 

RESOURCE LINK

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...
Please Sign In or Sign Up