The train crash that killed four veterans in Texas a week ago is a tragedy piled upon tragedy. It turns out that the man who was driving the flatbed truck, filled with vets, that was struck is a veteran himself. And according to his lawyer, he has been “traumatized” by the accident, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The truck driver was identified as Dale Andrew Hayden, 50, who has received hate mail since the crash in Midland, Texas, his lawyer told the Los Angeles Times.
Hayden was driving a truck that was acting as a float in a parade honoring veterans, carrying about a dozen of them. As that trucks crossed some rail tracks, it was struck by an oncoming train, killing four veterans and injuring others.
Hayden, who didn’t sustain any physical injuries in the accident, works for Smith Industries, which is an oil field equipment manufacturing company, according to the Los Angeles Times.
He has been cooperating with a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) probe into the accident, giving it a blood sample the day after the crash, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The NTSB has already found that the rail crossing’s safety gear, such as its flashing lights and gates, were working when the accident happened. The lights went on 20 seconds before the truck came to the crossing, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The organizers of the parade honoring the veterans did not seek or get a permit from Midland to hold the event, the Los Angeles Times reported.