Truck Driver Arrested For Killing College Student

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving is one of the leading causes of accidents today. Those who take their eyes off the road increase their chances of being involved in a crash by 23%. Because an accident can happen in a split second, distracted driving often ends in tragedy.

Chron.com recently reported on its website that police in Auburn, Alabama have arrested a truck driver for his role in a crash that killed a college student last summer.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Auburn Police Department said that Robert Anthony Lockwood, 45, of Montgomery, Alabama had been indicted on a manslaughter charge for the death of Cassidy Meadows, 20, who was a student at Auburn University.

Related: Accused DUI Driver Arrested for Killing Victim

Authorities said the accident happened on July 25th; 2018 when Lockwood was driving his tanker truck filled with jet fuel in the northbound lanes of Interstate 85 when he rear-ended Meadows’ 2013 Kia Soul. Investigators were able to determine that Lockwood had been distracted by an electronic device at the time of the accident causing him to fail to apply the truck’s brakes and crash into Meadows’ SUV.

Police say that Meadows died instantly in the crash.

The Lee County District Attorney’s offices presented investigators’ findings to a grand jury.

Court records indicate that Lockwood is currently being held in the Lee County Jail on a $30,000 bond.