Driver Acquitted In Fatal I-25 Dump Truck Crash

By Brian Maass

DENVER (CBS4) - A Denver judge has acquitted the driver of a dump truck of all criminal charges associated with a fiery crash on Interstate 25 that killed a man last year.

Denver court records show the judge found Juan Herrera-Morales not guilty of careless driving resulting in death and two other careless driving charges stemming from the wreck on May 25, 2017.

Hererra-Morales was driving a dump truck that blew a tire. The truck collided with an SUV, killing a man inside -- James Schuppe. Three of Schuppe's family members who were in the SUV were injured -- two of them were severely burned.

"We respect the court's verdict," said Ken Lane, a spokesperson for the Denver District Attorney's Office.

Lane said the prosecution believed that, "based upon the physical evidence, the defendant carelessly failed to control the vehicle after the tire blew, resulting in the death of the victim, which is why the defendant was charged with careless driving resulting in death."

Jacob Martinez, an attorney who represented Herrera- Morales, told CBS4, "This was obviously a very difficult case, due to the horribly sad loss of life and devastating lifelong injuries and pain sustained by the survivors. We all sympathize with their loss, and can only imagine how hard it has been for the family. However, our position has always been that while this was a horrible accident, it did not rise to the level of criminal conduct. It was universally agreed-upon that Mr. Herrera-Morales' vehicle sustained an unforeseeable blowout to its right front tire as it was traveling on northbound I-25. Once that blowout occurred, an uncontrollable chain of events was set in motion. Quite simply, there was nothing Mr. Herrera-Morales could have done to prevent this accident. There was no time to react to avoid the accident. Not every accident is somebody's fault. In fact, the evidence supported that unattended-to debris on the road surface was likely the cause of the blowout."

Martinez went on to say,"While we are very pleased that Mr. Herrera-Morales has been rightfully vindicated, it does not temper our sympathies for Mr. Schuppe and his family."

CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.