Arizona truck driver Danny G. Tiner, 36, was using TikTok when he caused a six-car pileup that killed five people earlier this year. Now he’s in custody at Maricopa County Jail, facing several felony charges.
Tiner was arrested Thursday on five counts of homicide, four counts of endangerment, and one of tampering with physical evidence, the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS) announced in a statement.
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Tiner was “actively using the TikTok application on his cell phone” and driving 68 mph in a 55-mph construction zone on Interstate 10 near Chandler when his commercial tractor-trailer collided with stopped traffic around 6:14 a.m. January 12, the statement read.
Tiner’s truck shoved two cars between another semi and two other vehicles. And the crushed cars burst into flames, killing five, 3TV/CBS 5 reported.
The horrible accident shut down the freeway for 11 hours.
Tiner initially told first responders that he acknowledged a message on his work tablet when the crash occurred. Investigators from the AZDPS and the FBI later examined the driver’s phone and found he had been using the popular video-sharing app.
At the time of the crash, Tiner was driving a semi-truck for Mr. Bult’s Inc. (MBI), an Illinois-based waste transportation firm involved in at least 26 crashes in Arizona in just two years, 3TV/CBS 5 said.
Shortly after the accident, the wife of crash victim Willis Doss said she planned to sue both Tiner and MBI for wrongful death.
“I just went into shock. Then I passed out,” Tondra Doss told 3TV/CBS 5 of the moment she learned of her husband’s death.
“It’s so hard for me. I swear it’s so hard for me.”
A semi-truck driver who earlier this year caused a six-vehicle crash in Arizona that resulted in the deaths of five people was on his phone and "actively using" TikTok just before the accident. https://t.co/kpSSodJ1AK
— 48 Hours (@48hours) June 30, 2023
A semi-truck driver was allegedly using TikTok when he caused a fiery crash on Interstate 10 near Chandler, Arizona, earlier this year. https://t.co/Kpw51qYIi1 pic.twitter.com/1JbPIilC26
— WLBT 3 On Your Side (@WLBT) June 30, 2023
DPS spokesman Bart Graves said the collision left people trapped inside their cars amid the fire.
“The crash with the five fatalities, we believe a semi driver that was distracted did not slow for slowing traffic that was part of the second crash and slammed into two vehicles in front of them. Another semi was involved in that crash, it was a chain reaction. In all, there were six vehicles involved.” Graves said at the time. “One of the vehicles was crunched in between the two semis, which caught fire. Another semi also ignited.”
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Graves said the fire’s intensity was “so great” it took firefighters nearly four hours just to gain control of the fire.
Tiner was jailed on a $300,000 bond and faces multiple charges, including five counts of manslaughter, four counts of endangerment, and one count of tampering with physical evidence.
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