FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A Minnesota truck driver has been sentenced to serve about 2 1/2 months in jail for a crash in North Dakota last June that killed a motorcycle driver.
Fifty-six-year-old James Toner, of Long Prairie, Minn., reached a deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor aggravated reckless driving charge. He initially had been charged with felony manslaughter.
Authorities say Toner drifted wide to the left with his semitrailer so he could make a right-hand turn at a Fargo intersection. Twenty-nine-year-old motorcyclist Jason Viestenz, of Fargo, was trailing and collided with the rig. He died and his 10-year-old son was injured.
Toner will not be allowed to have a commercial driver’s license during two years of probation following his jail term.
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