⏱ 2 min read
A South Carolina truck driver is facing the music for a 2022 West Virginia Turnpike crash that polluted Paint Creek, killing aquatic life. Dennis Eugene West, 58, was driving a tractor-trailer when he crashed on the Skitter Creek Bridge in Fayette County on August 24, 2022.
The impact ruptured totes containing alkyl dimethylamine, spilling pollutants onto the bridge and into Paint Creek. The discharge continued for over two years, causing widespread harm to aquatic life. West’s Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was more than 0.08% at the time of the crash, exceeding West Virginia’s commercial driver BAC limit.
West’s guilty plea also implicated his trucking business, Gadsden, Gaillard and West LLC. The company’s insurance policy paid over $900,000 for environmental containment, site cleanup, and related costs. West was ordered to pay $271,444.86 in restitution and was sentenced to three years of probation and a $5,000 fine.
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📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Environmental Crime
- Defendant: West Virginia
- Location: WV
- Source: DOJ Press Release
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