I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Driving tired is just as dangerous as driving drunk. A truck driver In Missouri just learned this the hard way after admittedly dozing off. When he woke up, he was in the middle of an eight-car pile-up. 

Missouri truck driver admits to falling asleep at the wheel 

Police officers in Festus, Missouri, rushed to the scene of an accident on Interstate 55, northbound near mile marker 183.6.

They arrived to find carnage and immediately needed backup from firefighters and emergency responders as they realized there was an eight-car pile-up. 

Upon investigating the carnage, they learned that a truck driver was responsible. The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Richard Allen Holden, was driving a 2022 Freightliner Cascadia semi-truck when he approached a construction zone. 

Other drivers were traveling at slow speeds to merge into the right lane as the left lane was closing. Holden hit the traffic in the right lane at 70 mph. 

According to The Trucker, evidence shows that little to no attempt was made to slow down or avoid the crash. Dash camera footage shows the semi-truck slamming into a Toyota, then a Nissan, Kia, Ram, GMC, another Toyota, and a Ford vehicle. 

Unfortunately, three people lost their lives in this tragic accident. Holden admitted to police officers that he may have dozed off. 

The last thing he remembers is looking out the window while he thought he was slowing down. Then he heard the sounds of crashing into multiple vehicles. 

The truck driver was charged with three counts of involuntary manslaughter. However, the accident also caused several injuries.