XENIA — The driver responsible for the tractor-trailer crash which sent hundreds of piglets free on to and near a Greene County roadway Monday made his court appearance Friday morning.
Terry Alley, 44, of Lafayette, Ind., pleaded no contest to the “operation without reasonable control” charge against him, before he was found guilty by Xenia Municipal Court Judge Michael Murry, according to court documents.
Alley was given a $125 fine plus court costs and was given a license suspension for 183 days, but was granted occupational driving privileges.
In the incident for which he was charged, Alley – who was hauling a load of 2,200 piglets in his tractor-trailer – lost control of the vehicle and crashed while going around a curve in the westbound lane of the U.S. Route 35 bypass near the edge of Xenia. At least 400 of the animals were killed as a result, according to the crash report for the incident. About 1,100 of the recovered animals were later picked up by the company transporting the pigs.
According to Alley’s written witness statement, he was driving at 65 mph and “came up on slow traffic” before he “veered to [the] right a little [too] much.” Alley’s statement adds that the trailer “came off ground then down then came up again and couldn’t get it back under control.”
In the crash report for the incident, one witness reported the vehicle driving at approximately 80 mph. The report estimates the vehicle’s speed as 70 mph in a 55 mph area. The speed limit in the area just before where the crash occurred drops from 65 to 55 mph and has guide signs suggesting vehicles drive at 45 mph through the turn.
Response crews and volunteers worked to clear the scene and round up the piglets that had escaped Monday evening and early Tuesday morning. Efforts to corral the remaining piglets continued throughout the week.
Alley could not be reached for comment Friday.