(Stillwater, Okla.) A Freightliner semi-truck driver who was accused of being under the influence of methamphetamine when he allegedly drove eastbound in the westbound lane of traffic on Highway 33 in a no-passing zone in Payne County has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in a head-on collision that took the life of the driver of a Chrysler Sebring car 16 months ago.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Daniel Ray Grimm, 47, of Liberty, Mo., who was not in custody Monday afternoon on the felony charge that was filed last week by Payne County District Attorney Laura Austin Thomas, a sheriff’s spokesman told KUSH.
Grimm allegedly was driving in a reckless manner earlier in the day — by hitting a light pole at I-35 and Second Street in Edmond at 2:57 a.m. when he was cited for inattentive driving, by then falsifying his log books to show he was sleeping during that first collision, by getting a new semi-truck and by continuing to drive in a careless manner by traveling eastbound in the westbound lane of Highway 33 at the time of the fatal head-on collision in Payne County, according to an alternative manslaughter charge.
The Chrysler driver, Shala Martin Smalley, died as a result of the head-on collision in Payne County on Highway 33 west of Karsten Creek Road, to which Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Clancy Williams was dispatched at 10:38 a.m. on Oct. 11, 2013, court records show.
During the investigation, it was determined that the semi-truck driven by Grimm had gone left of center in a no-passing zone that caused the fatal collision, the affidavit alleged.
“The toxicology results of Grimm’s blood came back positive for methamphetamine,” the affidavit alleged.
“In my investigation, a previous accident was discovered in which Grimm had wrecked a previous truck earlier that morning when he fell asleep and hit a light pole in the Oklahoma City area,” the trooper alleged in his affidavit.
“Grimm had falsified his logbook by showing that he had not been driving during the time of the first accident,” the affidavit alleged.
“Grimm’s medical card also had a corrective lenses restriction which he violated by not having glasses or contacts,” the affidavit alleged.
If convicted of first-degree manslaughter under either theory alleged by the district attorney, Grimm could be given a sentence of four years to life in prison.
Nineteen witnesses, including eight OHP troopers, two Glencoe men, one Agra man, a LifeNet ambulance employee, and a Stillwater Medical Center employee, were listed by the prosecution on court documents.
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