A truck driver from Haiti who caused a fatal crash in Ohio, killing a father and son and severely injuring the mother, has received a 20-day jail sentence.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: A judge has issued a mere 20-day jail sentence to a migrant truck driver responsible for the death of a father and son. 📺 DETAIL: Yvio Michel, reportedly a migrant from Haiti working as a big-rig truck driver, caused a multi-vehicle crash in late February in Ohio. The crash killed 52-year-old Hurshel Gipson and his 11-year-old son, Michael Gipson. The crash also left 45-year-old Amanda Gipson, Hursel’s wife and Michael’s mother, severely injured. Other motorists sustained injuries as well. Michel failed to slow his tractor-trailer for halted traffic on the I-75 highway, smashing into multiple vehicles and trapping the Gipson family’s SUV between two rigs. Michel, who was seeking asylum in the U.S., pleaded no contest to charges of negligent homicide and vehicular manslaughter after prosecutors dropped three other charges. Judge Tammie K. Hursh at Lima Municipal Court in Ohio gave Michel two consecutive 10-day sentences. Specifically, Judge Hursh suspended 80 days of Michel’s 90-day sentence for the negligent homicide charge and suspended 170 days of his 180-day vehicular manslaughter charge. Michel was also given a two-year license suspension, along with six points and $1,000 in fines. 🎯 IMPACT: Michel will remain in local custody until September 21. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has since lodged a detainer against him, meaning that he will be taken into federal custody once he is released. The lenient sentence has sparked outrage from the public. The case provides context as to why the Trump administration is moving to crack down on migrants working as truck drivers, as well as seeking to deport Haitian asylum seekers. |
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