Update on Sherman, TX accident

[TexasStooge]

Blood test sought from truck driver

Sherman police: Drugs that cause drowsiness found in his belongings

By TIARA M. ELLIS, TIM WYATT and ROY APPLETON / The Dallas Morning News

Sherman police on Wednesday sought a blood test of the truck driver charged in the deaths of 10 people after a search of his belongings turned up prescription medication that can cause drowsiness.

Authorities are trying to determine why Miroslaw Janusz Jozwiak's tractor-trailer crossed a Sherman highway median Monday afternoon, slamming into two oncoming vehicles.

Officers on Wednesday hadn't found the logbook they were hoping might shed light on the truck's inspections and the driver's workload.

But Mr. Jozwiak's briefcase contained two anti-psychotic drugs bearing the Polish trade names Pernazinum and Sulpiryd and an over-the-counter pain reliever, Pyralginum, that is banned in the United States.

"We're looking at the possibility of his lack of sleep or fatigue as being a cause or factor in this accident," said Sherman police Lt. Todd Smithers. "As well as taking blood" for testing.

Officers said Tuesday that they did not believe the driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Candelario Esparza survived the fiery crash, but many of his relatives did not as they rode in a pickup truck returning to Dallas from a roofing job near Sherman.

"I feel good. The only thing that makes me sad is what happened to my family," Candelario Esparza said from his hospital bed.

He said he was asleep in the back of the pickup before the accident.

"When I woke up, the accident had just occurred. I saw a lot of ugly things I don't want to remember," he said.

Other members of his family visited a funeral home in Oak Cliff where arrangements were being made for the funerals of his relatives.

Marcos Esparza, 41, Manuel Esparza, German Esparza, 19, Hector Zapata, 33, and Joel Mendoza Ruiz, 36, died.

Candelario Esparza and Javier Esparza remain at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

Candelario Esparza was in fair condition Wednesday. Relatives of Javier Esparza said they were worried that his injuries would leave long-term damage as he remained in intensive care.

News of the tragedy reached the village of Ahualulco, Mexico, which is the original home of the Esparza family. Several extended family members, including the parents of Javier Esparza, were on making their way to Dallas, waiting to be granted visitors' permits by U.S. immigration authorities in Laredo.

Four of the bodies will be sent to Mexico on Sunday for burial. Funeral arrangements for Mr. Zapata were pending, but he will be buried in Dallas.

New Hope residents Lisa Martin, 32; her mother, Betsy Wood, 70; and Ms. Martin's three children – Chance, 4; Brock, 2; and Reid, 2 months – died in the accident on the way home from a shopping trip.

More than 800 people attended a prayer service Wednesday night at High Pointe Church of Christ in McKinney, where Mrs. Wood was a member.

"At the memorial service, the focus will really be more on celebrating their lives, but tonight, we just wanted to give people a chance to do this," said Dr. Michael Lewis, High Pointe's senior minister. "Just to hug on them and tell them that we love them."

Mr. Jozwiak, who has been charged with 10 counts of criminally negligent homicide, remained in the Grayson County Jail on Wednesday. Bail was set at $200,000 on each of 10 counts of the state jail felony. If convicted, he faces six months to two years of confinement and a maximum $10,000 fine on each count.

Justice of the Peace Greg Middents, who arraigned Mr. Jozwiak, said the $2 million total bail was set by another justice of the peace, Butch Morgan, after a recommendation by Grayson County Attorney Joe Brown.

Mr. Brown said Mr. Jozwiak, a Polish citizen and resident of Florida, was charged with felonies because witnesses did not see any brake lights before the northbound rig left the highway.

"It's criminal when that results in 10 deaths," he said.

The bail amount considered the possibility the driver might flee, Mr. Brown said. "He has ties to Florida apparently, but that's still outside our jurisdiction. And he has no ties to Grayson County."

Engineers recognized the need for median barriers in the accident area before Monday's crash. Texas Department of Transportation officials in Sherman have filed a request for money to install median barriers along U.S. Highway 75.

Drivers of commercial motor vehicles are required to log how many hours they drive and work each 24-hour period. Federal regulations require drivers to note how many hours they drive and when they start and stop working.

The purpose of a logbook is to ensure that drivers get enough sleep and don't doze off at wheel, said David Longo, a spokesman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Drivers enter their own data, and some will work more hours than they record in their log, Mr. Longo said.

Although investigators don't have Mr. Jozwiak's log, they hope to re-create his travels with the credit card, fuel and toll receipts recovered from his briefcase.

Mr. Jozwiak didn't have an attorney Wednesday afternoon. His arraignment was delayed until an interpreter could participate because he had difficulty understanding the proceeding, Judge Middents said.

"He will have an attorney to speak for him on Monday," said Jolanta Strange, Mr. Jozwiak's sister.

Mr. Jozwiak, 45, lives with his sister in Daytona Beach, Fla. Ms. Strange said she talked Tuesday with her brother. She said he told her he was hauling an empty trailer, had hoped to make a mail run to Chicago and was "devastated" by the crash.

The truck belongs to a company that operates under two names, KV Trucking and KV Express, registered in Indiana and Illinois, respectively.

The motor carrier safety agency has sent investigators to the company's offices because of the crash, Mr. Longo said. He said a review of the company's operations, vehicles and drivers could take several days or months because of the situation's complexity.

Company representatives did not return phone calls Wednesday.

Staff writers Paula Lavigne, Tony Hartzel, Linda Stewart Ball and Anabel Marquez contributed to this report.