CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — A tractor-trailer driver was on the social media app TikTok just before causing a collision on the Phoenix-area freeway that killed five people, authorities said.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said in a news release that Danny G. Tiner, 36, was arrested at his home on Thursday on multiple counts related to the January crash, including five counts of manslaughter.
An investigation determined that Tiner was driving at 68 mph (109 km/h) in a 55 mph (89 km/h) construction zone and was actively using TikTok on his cellphone shortly before.
Initially, Tiner told police he received a message on an electronic work tablet and was acknowledging it.
It was not immediately clear on Friday whether Tiner had retained an attorney who could speak for him.
He was also convicted of four counts of endangerment and one count of tampering with physical evidence.
On the morning of January 12, state troopers responded to a fiery chain reaction crash on Interstate 10 in Chandler involving six cars. DPS officials said a tractor-trailer crashed into a passenger car, pushing it into another tractor-trailer and two other cars.
Most of the victims were trapped inside burning vehicles, as the fire resulting from the crash lasted around two hours.