Trucking News · Ohio · October 30, 2026

Ohio Truck Driver Sentenced to 22.5 Years for Fatal I-71 Construction Zone Crash That Killed a Family of Three

By Big Rig Daily Staff

A Delaware County, Ohio, judge sentenced a truck driver to a combined 22.5 years in prison on Thursday, Oct. 29, for an April chain-reaction crash in an Interstate 71 construction zone that killed a family of three, including a 1-year-old child. ATruckDrivers reported on the sentencing, which followed testimony from relatives of the victims.

The verdict and the sentence

Modou Ngom was found guilty in September of three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and five counts of vehicular assault. Five other people were injured in the crash. Prosecutors said Ngom was driving recklessly and failed to slow down as he hit stopped traffic inside a construction zone.

The sentences on all eight counts are to be served consecutively. Ngom received a lifetime license suspension on the most serious counts and additional five-year suspensions on others. No fine was imposed because of an ongoing civil case and the length of the prison sentence. He will be eligible for parole in 2048. A public defender was appointed for his appeal.

What the judge cited

According to the report, the judge cited the severity of the crash, victim impact statements, Ngom's apparent lack of remorse, and evidence that he obtained his commercial driver's license under an alternate identity. "You wiped out an entire family. The effects of that will be lifelong, life altering, life changing," the judge said.

Relatives spoke in court about the family's loss. The victims' grandparents urged the court to impose the maximum sentence without a chance of early release.

What Ngom told the court

Ngom told the court the crash was never his intention, according to the report. He denied using a device while driving and said he thinks about the victims daily.

Licensing and inspection history

ATruckDrivers reported that investigators determined Ngom fraudulently obtained his driver's license in 2003 and his CDL in 2007 under a different identity. Federal investigators also said he was cited in Kansas for a brake violation, a malfunctioning ABS warning light, three weeks before the crash, the report said.

Quick facts

• Where: Interstate 71 construction zone, with the case heard in Delaware County, Ohio.
• Sentence: a combined 22.5 years, with all eight counts served consecutively.
• Convictions: three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and five counts of vehicular assault.
• Injured: five other people.
• Parole: eligible in 2048.

Big Rig Daily has also covered how a Louisiana former CDL skills tester is charged with false entries in the testing system.

A question for readers

What do you do on the road to stay alert when traffic ahead slows suddenly in a work zone?

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