Attorney seeks competency hearing for trucker facing triple-homicide crash

The attorney for a Missouri trucker accused of reckless homicide in a July crash that killed an Indiana mother and her twin toddlers is asking for a competency hearing to determine his client’s fitness to stand trial.

Jack Crawford, an Indianapolis attorney, filed a motion on Aug. 23 with the Marion County Superior Court in Indianapolis seeking a psychiatric examination of his client, Bruce Pollard.

Pollard, 57, of Sturgeon, Mo., is facing three counts of reckless homicide and one count of reckless operation of a vehicle in a highway work zone. He also is charged with seven misdemeanor counts of reckless driving stemming from the July 14 crash.

Crawford reportedly told the Indianapolis Star that his client may be suffering from mental illness, and that Pollard suffered a traumatic brain injury four years ago. He has not responded to a request for comment from Land Line.

According to reports, Pollard was driving a tractor-trailer on July 14 faster than the posted speed limit in an active work zone on Interstate 465 in Indianapolis when his truck collided with the rear of a line of vehicles. The crash caused a fire that resulted in the death of Alanna Koons, 29, and her 18-month-old twin daughters. Seven other people were hospitalized.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration declared Pollard an imminent hazard and revoked his CDL on Aug. 2. According to the news release accompanying the order, FMCSA investigators found that Pollard had been disciplined and later terminated in April by his previous employer for repeated instances of unsafe driving.

Agency investigators also reportedly found that when he applied for his latest truck driving position in June, Pollard “failed to disclose his employment with the previous motor carrier and failed to disclose his termination and the reason for his termination.” He also falsely certified on his job application that he had not previously been involved in a crash.

It is a violation of U.S. Department of Transportation and FMCSA regulations to make fraudulent or intentionally false statements on a federally required, safety-sensitive document.