Trial begins for woman accused in death of tow truck driver (AL) "Not Forgotten"

[TowNews]

A jury trial began Monday for a Tuscaloosa driver involved in a fatal collision that left a tow truck driver dead more than three years ago.

 

Sheridan Temms crashed into a disabled vehicle that struck John William Hubbard as he worked an early-morning wreck about a mile from the McFarland Boulevard exit of Interstate 20/59.

 

Hubbard, 25, suffered injuries during the collision and later died at DCH Regional Medical Center.

 

A grand jury indicted Temms, 32, on a charge of criminally negligent homicide and a ticket for reckless driving nearly a year later. Testimony began Monday in the trial before Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court Judge Brad Almond.

 

Temms was in the left lane of the interstate when a driver in the right lane pulled in front of her in an attempt to follow the state’s move-over law, her attorneys Josh Swords and Hunter Brown told jurors.

 

The other driver clipped her vehicle, causing her to veer left and crash into the median-side guardrail before crossing back across the two lanes of traffic and colliding with the parked vehicle.

 

The owner of the parked vehicle filed civil lawsuit against Temms and the other driver in 2018. The complaint in that case states Temms was driving “at a excessively high rate of speed.”

 

Hubbard, who lived in Quinton, called “Hubba Bubba” by family and friends, had worked for Classic/Passmore Towing for more than five years.

 

After his death, friends, co-workers and family members advocated to increase the penalty for violating the state’s “move-over” law.

 

The trial, prosecuted by Tuscaloosa County Assistant District Attorney Eddie Sherlock, will resume Tuesday morning.

 

RESOURCE LINK

 

 

Tow Truck Processional for, 25-year-old John William "Bubba" Hubbard II - 12.17.16

 

 

Tow Truck Processional fro John  Hubbard Leaving
Crestview Memorial Funeral Home in Alabama

 

 

 

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tow truck operator John Hubbard knew his life purpose early on. Hubbard asked for a job at Passmore Towing and Recovery in Bessemer at age 20. Five years later, early Saturday morning, his earthly mission ended. Fellow tow truck drivers tell ABC 33/40 Hubbard was the type guy who went out of his way to help people."He was a hard worker. He loved his job. He loved the towing business. You've got to love it to do it," said Dwayne Kizziah, owner of Dwayne's Towing and Recovery in Tuscaloosa.

Wednesday, traffic homicide investigators mapped the scene where Hubbard was killed over the weekend on Interstate 59/20. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said two vehicles collided Saturday causing one to strike the disabled car Hubbard was servicing. ALEA has not determined if Alabama's Move Over Law was a factor in the crash. Either way, tow truck operators like Kizziah want you to slow down and move over."I worked one [a crash] one time and all I heard was run. Everybody ran through the bushes and cars were piling up because somebody came through there and started hitting their breaks trying to see what was going on and they just piled up and it caused more accidents than we were working," Kizziah said while explaining why the Move Over Law is so important.

AAA Alabama also released a statement concerning Hubbard's death. “AAA service providers face treacherous highway conditions every day in their efforts to help stranded motorists. Working on the side of the highway is very dangerous and emergency personnel are always concerned for their safety. It is extremely important that motorists understand and obey the Move Over Law to prevent these unnecessary injuries and deaths on our highways," said Clay Ingram with AAA Alabama.

Tow truck operators from across the region will drive their trucks in Hubbard's funeral procession this weekend. After the funeral service at 2 p.m. this Saturday, the procession will travel from Crestview Memorial Funeral Home in Jefferson County to Pumpkin Center Baptist Church in Walker County.

"We're going to take our trucks, show respect, and bring awareness to the law. We don't want anybody else killed," Kizziah explained.

RESOURCE LINK

 

 

John William “Bubba” Hubbard II, 25, of Quinton, passed away Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016, after a tragic accident. As a result, John chose to give life to others as an organ donor.

Bubba worked for Classic/Passmore Towing for more than five years, a true calling and passion. Being a tow truck driver allowed him to follow his love of helping others. He was a man that followed the Golden Rule. He loved his Lord and loved to live life to the fullest. His love for his Momma, “Jabo,” “Pooh” and “Baby Tula Jane” was strong. Bubba also had a love for playing music with his brothers and “Edna Faye,” and a love for animals, fishing, blowing stuff up and moonshine. He was loved and cherished by his family and will be forever missed.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Troy McCain and Vickey McCain; great-grandparents, Herb Grove, Grace Grove, Victor Moore Sr., and Lillian Moore; aunts, Dixie McCain, Yvonne Howard, and Denise Hyche; and uncle, Victor Moore Jr.

Bubba is survived by his mother, Angie Smith (Mark Yarbrough); brothers, Jared “Jabo” Hubbard and Jason “Pooh” Hubbard (Devon Salter); baby sister, Olivia “Tula Jane” Hubbard; nephew, Gavin Hubbard; aunts, Lynn Higgins (Bruce), Christy Duncan (Roger), Victoria Shirley and Ryan Dailey (Jeremy); special aunt, KK Fout; uncle, Shannon Glaze (Misty); grandmother, Shirley “GS” Glaze; aunt and uncles, Bob and Cathy Carswell, Bruce and Janice, Ed and Linda Morris, Gerald Howard, Gail Howard, and Randy and Margaret Davenport; his “Pappy,” Wesley Passmore and family; cousins, Colby (Jessie), Vicki (Justin), Baby Bruce, Elijah, Desiree (Alex), Shelby “Edna Faye,” Lilly, Josh “Corn Dog,” John Stephen, Desmond, Xavier, Ariel, Cameron, Morgan, Bobby, Lynn, Lillian, Amber, JT, Booger, Lee, Amy, Jerry, Amanda, Scarlett, and Dee; and many other extended family members and friends; and especially his co-workers, who he considered to be his brothers and family.

Funeral services will be Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, at 2 p.m. at Crestview Memorial Funeral Home. Visitation will be from 11:30 a.m. until time of service. Burial will at Sunset Cemetery in Pumpkin Center.

Pallbearers will be Bubba’s tow truck brothers, David Sanford, Frankie McMillian, Chris Hamric, Brad Pullen, Ryan Cartee, Josh Ward, Jeremy Hogg and Justin Rubin.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to Wes Passmore, Ryan Daily, the Hoggle Family singers, and the many other friends who have helped the family through this difficult time.

RESOURCE LINK

Proud of our association for the work we did back in 2009 to make the laws discussed in this interview apply to our profession. Unfortunately, as this tragic accident proves, we still have work to do. Let's everyone remain vigilant and do our part to make sure our brothers and sisters come home safely to their families at the end of the day. There is still work to be done!

We are also asking for anyone who can bring a truck out to participate in the funeral procession for John (Bubba) Hubbard tomorrow (Saturday) at 11:30 at Crestview Memorial Funeral Home in Adamsville, AL. Let's rally around this family and honor, love, and support them.

RESOURCE LINK

 

 

[rreschran]

This case is one to watch as it claims and blames the move-over law for being a major factor. I think both Plaintiff and Defense have will have to put on quite a show to plead their cases. While the move-over law has its merits, it can create a deadly set of, immediate and, "in your face", cirumstances for anyone not 110-percent aware of their surroundings. Note:  a conviction for reckless driving is really hard to prove.     R.

[goodmichael]

It will be an interesting case. Here in San Antonio just the other day I observed a driver ticketed for driving 100 mph in a 60 mph zone.  Officers stated that speed alone was not a factor in reckless driving. Had the primary driver in this incident not utilized an unsafe lane change would we be here? There was no reference to the alleged speed of driver #2. 

Interesting case.

Edited February 13, 2020 by goodmichael

[TowZone]

OVER 100 MPH HERE is a mandatory trip to jail for both the driver and their vehicle.

 

Seems like it's 1 out of 10 gets lucky and the officers time is a factor.

[goodmichael]

I actually spoke to and was admonished by other officers who stated that it was their policy to cite and release.

I have given up on thinking logically. It is a lost cause.

Edited February 13, 2020 by goodmichael

[rreschran]

As Ron mentioned, over 100-mph in California can be an arrestable offense. But, get into the officer's head just for a second. Cite and release is a 10-minute process versus making an arrest, impound the vehicle, write the impound report, wait for the tow truck, take the arrested party for, "booking slip", approval at the Watch Commander's desk, transport to jail, wait in-line at the sally port, write the arrest report, get it signed, all the while, chasing calls on the radio. Much of that is about having the elements of the crime arrested for. If the elements aren't there ... let em' go.     R.

[goodmichael]

By allowing the behavior of drivers to become more and more reckless, officers who cite and release a person intercepted at such a high rate of speed just enable the behavior. Then when a family is killed when there is a crash, or someone working roadside is struck everyone gets up in arms. When there is a fatality incident how many man hours are spent working the scene? I certainly understand that time limit perspective, but how many calls will be held back to work a fatality

[rreschran]

Hey GM - You offer up a great perspective about the number of hours and number of police personnel to work a single fatality event. I don't condone an officer that overlooks public safety because it's not convenient. I simply provide a glimpse as to the reality of lack of funds, minimal staffing, days-off, busy police and criminal activity, or, that individual officer who pick's and chooses his enforcement activity. The bottom-line suggests, that people get "stupid in-public" without care of injury or death of someone else; sometimes there's not enough cops in the right place and the right time to catch em' all ... just like that we saw in that video of the tow truck that road-raged those bicylists.         R. 

[TowZone]

Michael, the majority of officers want to do there duty. However, Randall hit on the Reality when he got to "wait in-line at the sally port, write the arrest report, get it signed, all the while, chasing calls on the radio". If the sally port only is not lined up then that alone can make the difference. Combine that with one or more other factors mentioned and can make the difference when the arrest is in connection with one charge of reckless driving charge which endangers the general public. Towing the vehicle is rarely a factor unless there is a personnel shortage. Which many departments across the nation face in this low unemployment with higher private sector opportunities. Combine that with Courts, not just judges that dismiss or lower charges. This occurs often before the judge even reviews the case.

 

Again Reality Check!