Commercial driver sentenced for killing 5 in collision while distracted on TikTok

CHANDLER, Ariz. (TCN) -- A 38-year-old commercial vehicle driver will spend over two decades behind bars for killing five people in a collision while he was actively using TikTok.

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety (AZDPS), on Aug. 16, Danny Tiner received a sentence of 22 1/2 years in prison for five counts of negligent homicide. He pleaded guilty to the charges in June.

On the morning of Jan. 12, 2023, Tiner rear-ended five vehicles while driving a commercial truck, the AZDPS said in an initial press release. At the time, Tiner was reportedly hauling an open-top box trailer filled with trash. Troopers determined he was driving 68 mph in a 55 mph construction zone and allegedly failed to yield for stopped traffic. As a result, the AZDPS said he ran into two cars, crushing them into another commercial truck. The second commercial truck crashed into two additional cars.

Two of the passenger cars "burst into flames," and the fire spread to Tiner's truck tractor and trailer and to the other commercial vehicle's box trailer. Tiner reportedly suffered minor injuries in the collision.

According to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, digital forensic evidence revealed Tiner "accessed at least four separate TikTok videos while driving and within seconds of the collision."

Authorities initially arrested Tiner at his home in June 2023 on five counts of manslaughter, four counts of endangerment, and one count of tampering with evidence.

The AZDPS said it's the "first case in AZDPS history in which a driver has been convicted of causing a fatal collision while distracted by a social media application."

In a statement, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said, "Five families are living through the pain of losing a loved one. While the justice system can never relieve that pain, it can hold the person responsible accountable. We achieved that goal."

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