Nov. 01--The driver of an empty fuel tanker involved in a May collision that killed a Yuma-based highway patrol officer was using his cell phone to look at photos of women when he crashed into three police cars and two fire department trucks on Interstate 8, according to records obtained by Arizona Daily Star from the Arizona Department of Public Safety via a public records request.
The truck driver, 33-year-old Jorge Espinoza, has been charged with second-degree murder, 13 counts of endangerment and six counts of criminal damage in the death of Ofc. Tim Huffman, who was killed when his patrol vehicle was hit from behind by truck reportedly being driven by Espinoza at around 5:10 p.m. May 6 at milepost 40 on Interstate 8.
At the time of the crash, Huffman was inside his vehicle writing a report on an injury collision that he and two other DPS officers were investigating on eastbound I-8.
Emergency medical personnel responding to the injury collision had asked DPS officers to close one lane of traffic to allow for the transport of the injured, and one of the officers parked his patrol car, with emergency lights flashing, in that lane. Huffman then parked his patrol vehicle a few feet away on the shoulder and began his paperwork.
Moments later, an empty tanker truck driven by Espinoza approached the scene. Espinoza, who was traveling in the lane that was closed ahead, allegedly failed to change lanes despite the flashing lights and reported attempts by an officer to get his attention.
The tanker truck slammed into the DPS vehicle parked in the closed lane, which in turn struck Huffman's vehicle, DPS reported. The force of the impact killed Huffman, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to DPS, the tanker also slammed into a pickup belonging to the fire department, which was pushed into an unoccupied DPS patrol vehicle. That patrol vehicle then struck the rear of another parked fire department truck.
At the time of the crash, Espinoza was traveling from Yuma to Phoenix. He was not injured in the crash.
According to an article that appeared in the Arizona Daily Star, Espinoza was driving 65 mph with the cruise control on when the crash happened. He initially told investigators he didn't see the police cars because he was looking in his mirror at a passing truck.
He also said he never uses his phone while driving because it is against company policy, the police reports show. However, according to the reports, information taken from the phone shows Espinoza was using the Internet at the time of the crash.
The Arizona Daily Star, citing the reports, states that Espinoza was allegedly on Facebook looking at "photographs of several women in provocative positions, wearing little clothing," "photographs of a woman in a low cut dress," and photos of a man "smoking something," Espinoza had also used his phone to look at Facebook, YouTube, female escort web pages, porn sites and social networks on other occasions when he was logged in as driving, investigators said.
The reports also indicate, according to the Arizona Daily Star, that a camera on the dashboard of his truck shows Espinoza's Samsung Galaxy 3 phone fly out of his hand in the crash, although he had apparently tried to cover the camera with his wallet.
Other officers and medics who were with witnessed the crash and tried to save Huffman. They pulled the windshield and dash off his car to try to help him, and they got a Jaws of Life tool out of one of the crashed fire trucks, but Huffman died in the car, reports show.
Investigators concluded: "Espinoza would have been able to perceive the danger in the roadway and not cause the death of Officer Tim Huffman, endangered the lives of 11 other emergency responders and destroyed six vehicles, including a new semi-tractor and trailer owned by his employer, if he had not chosen to distract himself while accessing Facebook from his cellular telephone while operating his assigned commercial vehicle."
Espinoza, who is out of custody on $200,000 bond, has a hearing scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 11 in Yuma County Superior Court.
During a previous hearing held on Oct. 30, Espinoza's attorney, Michael Donovan, explained to the judge that he has finished reviewing all the evidence in the case and with the assistance of the Yuma County Attorney's Office, would begin scheduling and conducting witness interviews.
Donovan, who also reminded the court that the case against his client has been designated a complex case, said he expected it would take about a month or two to complete those interviews.
Copyright 2013 - The Sun, Yuma, Ariz.
