Driver distracted by social media leading to fatal Arizona freeway crash gets 22 1/2 years

PHOENIX (AP) — A tractor-trailer driver authorities say caused a fiery crash that killed five people due to being distracted by social media videos, has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.

Maricopa County prosecutors said Monday that Danny Glen Tiner, 38, pleaded guilty to five counts of negligent homicide.

Tiner was driving 68 mph (109 kph) in a 55-mph (89-kph) construction zone during the January 2023 crash on Interstate 10 in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, investigators said.

Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said digital forensic data showed Tiner accessed at least four social media videos on his cellphone before he failed to yield to stopped traffic and the collision occurred.

The tractor trailer collided with two cars, pushing them into another semi-truck and two other vehicles, according to authorities. The vehicles crushed between the semi-trucks burst into flames.

The public safety department said Tiner was arrested in June 2023 after an investigation found him responsible for the fatal crash.

Among the five victims were four men who were carpooling to their landscaping job.