Semi driver in fatal Chi-Hi crash faces federal charges

Last modified: Friday, October 24, 2008 4:10 PM CDT

Semi driver in fatal Chi-Hi crash faces federal charges

By The Associated Press

MADISON -- The Indiana semi-truck driver cleared of criminal wrongdoing in a 2005 crash with a bus carrying high school band members now faces federal charges of falsifying driving records.

U.S. Attorney Erik C. Peterson said Thursday that a grand jury indicted Michael Kozlowski, 25, of Schererville, Ind., accusing him of falsely logging 10 hours of sleep time on 12 separate occasions in August, September and October 2005.

Federal regulations require commercial truck drivers to record all daily activities to comply with limits on the number of hours they can drive, Peterson said.

A bus carrying Chippewa Falls High School students returning home from a marching band competition slammed into Kozlowski's overturned truck on I-94 in western Wisconsin on Oct. 16, 2005, killing five people, including the bus driver and the band director, his wife and grandchild, and a student teacher.

A year ago, a state court jury found Kozlowski not guilty of five counts of negligent homicide, seven felony counts of causing great bodily harm by reckless driving and 21 misdemeanor counts of causing injury in the crash.

Prosecutors contended Kozlowski regularly drove on little sleep, and he was out drinking almost all night before he started the 430-mile trip to haul groceries to St. Paul, Minn. They claimed he was "excessively fatigued," and was going 70 mph when his semi drifted to the shoulder and tipped over as he tried to swerve back onto the road.

Kozlowski's attorney said the young man's only mistake was driving too fast when he tried to pull over to the side of the road to go to the bathroom. He blamed the crash on 78-year-old bus driver, arguing the driver should have seen the overturned truck but didn't because of vision problems. The bus driver wasn't wearing his glasses, as required on his driver's license, testimony showed.

The federal indictment charged Kozlowski with 12 counts of falsifying records. Each count carries a maximum punishment of five years in federal prison, Peterson said.

It was not immediately known who Kozlowski's lawyer was on the federal charges.

The indictments represent the second time this fall that Kozlowski's role in the crash has been scrutinized.

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded in September that the truck driver fell asleep at the wheel about 2 a.m. and began to drift off the shoulder. When he swerved back onto the road, the rig overturned.

Some early stage technology may eventually prevent such fatigue-induced crashes, the NTSB study found.

The NTSB also said records showed Kozlowski's employer, Whole Foods Market Group, gave him sufficient time to rest between assignments but the NTSB said Kozlowski had not filled in his log book as required for five days before the crash.

According to Wisconsin online court records, at least 10 civil lawsuits have been filed in Chippewa County over the crash. The defendants include Kozlowski and Whole Foods, as well as bus operator Chippewa Trails and multiple insurance companies.