Virginia State Police are collecting evidence in the wake of a deadly truck accident that took place on Interstate 81 on the morning of Thursday, August 11. According to local news sources, the police have confiscated the cell phone of the truck driver involved in the accident.
The fatal VA traffic accident took place when a tractor-trailer milk truck switched lanes on I-81, slamming into a sedan full of student drivers. The car left the roadway and rolled several times, killing the student driver, 16-year-old Ricky Valencia-Rocha of Harrisonburg. Two other student drivers and the driving instructor were injured in the truck accident and rushed to Rockingham Memorial Hospital for treatment.
The driver of the truck, 36-year-old Robert Lambert of Bridgewater, was also injured and brought by ambulance to the same hospital for treatment. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter soon after. The Mountain Milk truck driver handed his mobile phone over to police after authorities issued a search warrant. Police will search the phone for call histories, text messages, and browsing data. It is not clear if police have other evidence that Lambert was using his phone to talk, text, or browse the internet in the moments before the crash.