Florida trucker pleads no contest in fatal Nebraska crash

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Florida truck driver has pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular homicide charges in a crash last year on Interstate 80 that killed a La Vista man and his 7-year-old son.

Yorkwind Crawford, 51, of North Miami Beach, Florida, entered the pleas Wednesday in a Lancaster County courtroom and faces up to two years in jail when he’s sentenced in April, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

Investigators said Crawford was driving a semitrailer west on I-80 the morning of Sept. 4 when he plowed into a line of vehicles that had slowed to exit. The first vehicle hit was the pickup truck carrying 41-year-old Mark Kaipust and his son, 7-year-old Taylor Kaipust, who died. Five others were injured.

The Kaipusts were on their way to a Nebraska football game in Lincoln when they were killed.

An investigation showed Crawford had been driving the speed limit just prior to the crash, and that he was not impaired or using his phone at the time of the crash. Instead, Crawford was briefly distracted by something outside his truck. Video from inside the truck’s cab showed Crawford looking out his passenger-side window for only 3 seconds before the crash.