LAKE ST. LOUIS, Mo. – FOX 2 has learned a 79-year-old tractor-trailer driver killed in a crash in on Interstate 70 in Lake St. Louis on Tuesday was a target in a lawsuit stemming from another crash in 2021.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the impact of Tuesday’s crash killed George Dickey of St. Charles. He would have turned 80 next year.
“We’re going to look into any driver history,” said Cpl. Dallas Thompson, MSHP.
“He was an older gentleman. We’ll have to wait and see until the medical reports come back as far as could he have been suffering some type of medical emergency at the time of the incident … he had a valid commercial driver’s license. He was licensed to drive that vehicle he was operating. It was just a tragic crash.”
The other driver had pulled over on the shoulder of westbound I-70 just before the I-64 interchange to rest in the sleeping berth of his cab, Cpl. Thompson said. That driver was not hurt.
“That location right there was just before an exit ramp, a big, wide shoulder. There was plenty of room there (to pull over and sleep) but it is not something we encourage people to do,” Thompson said. “For some unknown reason at this point in time, a second tractor-trailer drove onto the shoulder and struck it from behind.”
Westbound I-70 was shut down for hours as the highway patrol began its accident reconstruction investigation and then the scene was cleared.
Authorities said Dickey was involved in another crash on I-70 at Zumbehl Road in May 2021, about 25 miles east of Tuesday’s crash.
Court documents show Dickey was cited for “changing lanes when movement could not be made safely, resulting in an accident” for the 2021 accident. That citation was later amended to a parking violation in February. Dickey agreed to pay a fine and court costs totaling $225.
Three months after that, the two alleged victims from that 2021 accident, Angela Casella and Robert Rosenburg of Denver, Colorado, filed suit against Dickey and the trucking company that employed Dickey – Fuel Carriers Inc. of St. Charles. They accused both of negligence, claiming Dickey caused their vehicle to overturn, injuring them both. The defendants denied the allegations.
As for changing the unsafe lane change citation to a parking violation, the St. Charles County Counselor’s Office issued the following statement:
“While we can’t comment on any particular case in reviewing tickets involving accidents it is common practice for the prosecutor to review and consider whether restitution has been provided, whether any individuals were transported from the scene and whether there are conflicting statements within the police report in order to determine how the ticket will be disposed.”