Trucker sentenced to 55 years for deadly 2015 crash

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – A man has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for killing six people and injuring others in 2015 when his tractor-trailer careened into stopped traffic on a Tennessee highway.

Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole sentenced 42-year-old Benjamin Brewer on Monday.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports Brewer apologized, and Poole said he appreciated the gesture but Brewer was a “dangerous offender.” Prosecutors said Brewer had methamphetamines in his system when he sped down Interstate 75 and barrelled through the cars without braking, travelling 453 feet before his tractor-trailer stopped.

Brewer’s attorneys noted no responding officers said Brewer appeared under the influence and a state toxicologist admitted to contaminating Brewer’s blood test that was methamphetamine-positive. Brewer was convicted January of six counts of vehicular homicide, among other charges.

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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com

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