This is why ELD's are going into effect.

Thanks for providing this link pattyj , we should at least give the driver the benefit of a doubt.
If you scroll down there's a news interview with the driver

 

Yeah, 'cause a guy that knows he's breaking the law when he's falsifying his logs is going to admit in an interview that he was sleeping in the travel lane of an Interstate.

SMDH

Anyone who doesn't know the liability associated with sleeping in the middle of the Interstate not only shouldn't have a CDL, they shouldn't have ANY license, and probably not be allowed anything in their possession sharper than a spoon.

And it isn't just about "laws", it's also about the social contract that all of us agree to when we use public roads. When people violate not only those laws, that seem to be more and more intrusive and more necessary due to the continual dumbing-down of society and drivers, but also rules of common sense and decency, when they have such flagrant disregard for their fellow citizens, then they need to be held accountable for their actions. Especially when their actions result in injuries and deaths of innocent people... regardless of their intent. Intent is only relevant in determining the severity of the charge, i.e,, manslaughter vs. murder.

 

'cept for one SMALL problem...

HE WASN'T DRIVING!!! His vehicle was stopped with the parking brakes set.

Those charges would be fitting for the bus driver who recklessly plowed into a stopped vehicle, not for a guy who simply fell asleep while the road was shut down and traffic was at a standstill, whom nobody thought to check on when traffic moved again and he didn't. Hell, the man could've had a medical emergency while the road was shut down and been laying in the truck dead and the same thing would've happened, because his truck wasn't moving...then who would you want to see locked up?

People like you are part of the problem...demanding somebody's head on a plate even if they only played a small and insignificant part in what happened. The bus driver was speeding, not watching where he was going, and you want THIS guy's head just because he happens to be the unlucky sap who the bus driver plowed into. If it wasn't this truck, it would've been a broke down minivan with a family inside, or whatever other obstruction this bus driver could find.

 

That's exactly right- Too many people in this world want to see others suffer- Must be a natural :high" when it happens

 

Actually I am giving the driver the benefit of the doubt.Based on the story the bus driver was going too fast and not paying attention.But since he is no longer here FMCSA is going to go after the truck driver.

 

Did the bus have a dashcam? What does it show?

 

lol, are you kiddin? probably find it sitting nside the trailer 12 rows up in a dozen pieces...

 

yeah i wonder what the "special circumstances" is, in the end it will really come down to what the Public Prosecutor decides and that sometimes is influenced by the public out cry, so someone who may not really deserve capital punishment gets it anyway just to keep the public happy. the cruel thing is they sit on the green mile forever instead getting the sentence carried out swiftly. Keeps the attorneys very busy though, cause business is always booming.

 

Well glad its the legal eagles that have to sort that mess out huh? however it sometimes is quite amusing as to what they eventually decide.

 

Ah, yeah, in the eyes of the law he was driving. He was the driver of the vehicle, he was in full care and control of the vehicle at the time and he committed acts contrary to the laws governing the highway he was on. Your semantics, like the rest of your arguments, are invalid.

California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM) (2017)
2241. Driver and Driving Defined (Veh. Code, § 305)

[A driver is a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle.]

RELATED ISSUES

Circumstantial Evidence
Driving may be established through circumstantial evidence. (Mercer v. Dept. ofMotor Vehicles (1991) 53 Cal.3d 753, 770 [280 Cal.Rptr. 745, 809 P.2d 404].) Forexample, in People v. Wilson (1985) 176 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1, 9 [222 Cal.Rptr.540], the court found sufficient evidence of driving where the vehicle was parkedon the freeway, over a mile from the on-ramp, and the defendant, the sole occupantof the vehicle, was found in the driver’s seat with the vehicle’s engine running.
Engine Need Not Be On
In People v. Hernandez (1990) 219 Cal.App.3d 1177, 1184 [269 Cal.Rptr. 21], thecourt held that the defendant was “driving” because he was “seated in the driver’sseat steering or controlling the truck while it was still moving, even though theengine was no longer running.” (See also People v. Jordan (1977) 75 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1, 9 [142 Cal.Rptr. 401] [defendant “driving” a moped when she moved it bypedaling, even though the engine was not on].)

- CALCRIM No. 2241. Driver and Driving Defined :: California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM) (2017) :: Justia​

So tell me, how do you charge or otherwise hold a dead person responsible for their actions? The answer to that is why the dead bus driver is not being charged. Pretty simple, really.

This idea of "substitution" that you and others are putting forth, i.e., the DA is simply substituting one bad actor (the truck driver) for another (the bus driver), is based on nothing more than vague opinion and feelings. No proof.

Except that he wasn't having a medical emergency. He was sleeping because he has a history of egregiously violating the HOS and was apparently too fatigued to do his job properly. So, again, a specious attempt to deflect from the truth of his bad actions. Regardless of any inaction of others, the driver was culpable in the deaths of 13 people. Could others have done something? Should others have done something? Do others bear some responsibility in the tragic outcome? Possibly, based who saw what and when, and I am sure that will be included in the NTSB investigation to be released at the end of October. Regardless, none of that negates the truck driver's actions.

What an absurd pack of lies. Who do I want to see locked up? No one. Do I think that guilty parties should be held accountable for their actions? Yes. Do I think they should be judged according to the social contract, community standards and laws of their jurisdiction? Yes.

I am not demanding anything. And to say the truck driver "only played a small and insignificant part in what happened" is beyond ridiculous. He created the obstacle that had a major role in the deaths of 12 innocent people and broker numerous laws as well as simple, basic human decency in the process.

And again... what if?... what if?... except none of your strawman arguments exist, but 13 people are dead.