Father, 11-Year-Old Son Killed by Alleged Mgrant Truck Driver

An Ohio father and his 11-year-old son were killed after a suspected migrant truck driver failed to slow down in time and struck several vehicles, as well as another tractor-trailer, according to reports.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol issued a press release, obtained by People, that said the trucker, Yvio Michel, 53, of Florida, was driving a Great Dane “semi-truck” traveling north on Feb. 28 when he crashed into the vehicles.

As a result of Michel’s tractor-trailer striking several vehicles “that were backed up on Interstate 75 North,” Hurshel Gipson, 52, and her son were “pronounced dead at the scene,” the outlet reported.

Gipson and his son were in a 2015 Buick Enclave with Gipson’s wife, Amanda, who survived the crash, although she suffered “severe injuries,” according to the outlet:

Yvio Michel, a 53-year-old man from Boynton Beach, Fla., was driving a Great Dane tractor-trailer north on Interstate 75 when he failed to maintain enough distance as he approached congested traffic, hitting four passenger vehicles and another tractor-trailer, the agency said.

Amanda Gipson, a 45-year-old woman from Lima, Ohio, was driving a 2015 Buick Enclave at the time, with her 52-year-old husband, Hurshel Gipson, and their 11-year-old son as passengers. Her husband and child were pronounced dead at the scene and she was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries, authorities said.

Michel was “charged with two counts of negligent homicide, two counts of vehicular manslaughter and failure to maintain a safe distance,” WLIO News reported.

Michel, who “pleaded not guilty,” is not a U.S. citizen and “has limited English skills,” officials said, according to the outlet.