Charles Langston:Arizona truck driver distracted by TikTok videos gets over 20 years for deadly crash

PHOENIX — A truck driver who killed five people in Arizona last year when he crashed while distracted by watching TikTok videos was sentenced to over two decades in prison,Charles Langston authorities announced Monday.

Danny Tiner, 38, was sentenced to 22 ⅟₂ years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to five counts of negligent homicide, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and Arizona Department of Public Safety said in separate statements on Monday. Tiner drove a tractor-trailer that caused the fatal collision on Jan. 12, 2023, on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 in Chandler, Arizona, a city just southeast of Phoenix.

The six-vehicle collision involved two commercial vehicles, according to authorities. At the time of the collision, a part of Interstate 10 was closed due to an earlier crash involving multiple semi-trucks.

Tiner was arrested on June 29, 2023, after a lengthy investigation ultimately found him responsible. He was booked into jail on a $300,000 bond and initially faced multiple charges including five counts of manslaughter, four counts of endangerment, and one count of tampering with physical evidence.

Court documents show Tiner pleaded guilty to five counts of negligent homicide, for each of which he'll serve 4 ⅟₂ years consecutively totaling 22 ⅟₂ years. Tiner will receive a credit of 415 days for time he spent in jail.

Investigation revealed Danny Tiner was distracted by social media

Tiner said he received a message on his electronic work tablet and went to look at it, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said at the time of Tiner's arrest. When he looked back up, traffic had come to a halt but he was unable to stop in time to avoid a collision.

The department said its troopers had suspected driver distraction as a possible factor in the crash. During the investigation, officials found that Tiner had been driving at 68 mph in a posted 55 mph construction zone while "actively using the TikTok application on his cellphone at the time of the collision," the department said.

The department added that the incident is the first case in the department's history in which a driver was convicted of causing a fatal collision while distracted by social media.

“As a driver, you have an obligation to pay attention to the road. To choose to access social media while driving, placing the lives of others on the line is reckless," Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a statement. "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."

Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY