DALLAS (AP) – A North Texas truck driver accused of causing a 2014 crash in Oklahoma that killed four college softball players has died by suicide at his home.
The prosecutor in the Oklahoma case, Murray County District Attorney Craig Ladd, confirmed to The Oklahoman that 55-year-old Russell Staley died just days before a scheduled court hearing.
Tarrant County medical examiner’s office records show Staley died Friday of a gunshot wound at his home north of Fort Worth.
Staley was scheduled for trial in March on four counts of manslaughter in the deaths of the softball players from North Central Texas College.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol determined Staley lost control of his semitrailer on Interstate 35 near Davis, Oklahoma, crossed the center line and crashed into the team’s bus.