INDIANAPOLIS — A truck driver who slammed into stopped traffic in a construction zone in July 2019, killing a mother and her twin daughters, received a nine-year sentence on Monday.
Bruce Pollard, 58, of Sturgeon, Missouri, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to 11 felonies and misdemeanors, including three counts of reckless homicide, stemming from the crash that killed Alanna Koons, 29, and her twin 18-month-old daughters, June and Ruby.
Marion Superior Judge Barbara Cook Crawford accepted the plea agreement and agreed there was enough evidence to support a mental illness plea.
The nine-year sentence was the maximum allowed under the plea agreement made in February. Pollard will serve the sentence in an Indiana Department of Correction mental health facility.
“The Koons family experienced a heart-wrenching tragedy with the loss of Alanna, June and Ruby,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a release.
On July 14, 2019, Koons and her daughters died when Pollard barreled into their vehicle in a construction zone on Interstate 465 near Keystone Avenue.
Indiana State Police investigators found Pollard was driving 65 miles per hour and did not make any effort to slow down as he approached the stopped traffic.
After hitting Koons' car, Pollard continued driving for more than the length of a football field. Drivers and passengers in six other vehicles were injured.
The ISP report noted there were construction zone warning signs for several miles before the crash scene.
“As drivers on our roadways, we have the obligation to be vigilant and observe traffic and warning signs to keep motorists and roadworkers safe," Mears said. "Mr. Pollard’s failure to do so resulted in devastating consequences.”
RELATED | Mother, twin daughters killed, seven injured after serious crash on Interstate-465 in Indianapolis | Mother, twin daughters killed in fiery I-465 crash identified | CALL 6: Company that owns semi in crash that killed mom, twins cited previously for unsafe driving | Prosecutors add seven reckless charges for semi-truck driver in deadly crash | Sentencing set for trucker who caused crash killing mother and twin daughters
