PHOENIX — Six months after Andrew Standifird died, his mother said she is reliving his death.
The tractor-trailer driver that killed the then 28-year-old and four other people on Interstate 10 and Chandler Boulevard on January 12 was arrested on Thursday.
Investigators allege Danny Glenn Tiner, 36, was speeding and “actively using” TikTok when he caused the deadly six-vehicle crash.
“I felt like my son died all over again,” Andrew’s mother, Sarah Standifird, told 12News about when she learned of the arrest. “I’m re-living the day he passed, but it was a relief to know he wasn’t on the streets.”
It was a simple work commute
It was a Thursday around six in the morning.
Andrew was in a Ford F-250 pickup truck on his way to work with three of his AAA Landscape coworkers when they were stuck in a traffic jam near I-10 and Chandler Boulevard. There had been an earlier crash involving multiple semi-trucks that morning, and the highway was closed ahead.
At about 6:15 a.m., a commercial truck tractor, hauling an open-top box trailer loaded with garbage, rear-ended the truck Andrew was in.
The Ford F250 and a Toyota Camry became wedged into the back of a second commercial truck on the highway. The two vehicles were crushed between the semi-trucks, ignited, and burst into flames.
Andrew, his coworkers, and the car's driver died on the scene.
“My son died on impact, but he burned,” Sarah said. “I didn’t have a proper burial. I have ashes. And I had to identify him with his dental records. That was very hard.”
Speeding and on TikTok
Immediately after the collision, authorities suspected the crash was caused by distracted driving. Still, it wasn’t until six months later, and the conclusion of an investigation, that they allegedly confirmed it.
The investigation revealed Tiner was traveling 68 mph in the posted 55-mph construction zone and was “actively using” TikTok on his cellphone at the time of the crash, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.
Tiner was notified about the investigation and turned his cell phone to authorities, who, with the help of the FBI, conducted a forensic examination of the device, AZPDS said.
The 36-year-old was arrested at his home in El Mirage, Arizona, on January 29.
“It just blows my mind,” said Sarah when 12News asked her reaction about Tiner using social media as he drove.
“[The semi-truck] is a deadly machine and you’re playing on TikTok? That’s irresponsible and so negligent,” Sarah said.
Tiner only suffered minor injuries during the crash, as well as other people who were in two other cars that were also jolted when the second commercial truck thrust forward after the impact.
Lives lost
Andrew Standifird was 28 years old when he was killed. He was a husband and a father of three. He played the guitar, and was a funny, loving, and charismatic person, who had a full life ahead of him, said his mother.
Andrew’s coworkers, Gilbert Franco, Willis Thompson, and Jerardo Vazquez, were identified as the victims.
Vazquez had been working with AAA Landscaping for 24 years, the company said. He was 57 years old.
“He was a hard worker who enjoyed his career as a landscaper, beautifying the world around him with the work of his hands and with the love of his heart,” the Vazquez family said in their GoFundMe. “He did all he could to make sure our family was taken care of.”
Willis Thompson, 37, was a father of one from Laveen.
“If all he had to give you was the shirt off his back, he would do just that, his sister Latefia Eagletail told 12News after the crash. “An amazing brother, uncle, father, son….”
Gilbert Franco, 28, had only been with AAA Landscaping for four days, according to his family in Sierra Vista.
“Anyone that knew my brother knew what a loving and beautiful soul he was,” a GoFundMe post from the family read. “He loved to make anyone laugh. He had a heart of gold.”
Ryan Gooding has been with his significant other for ten years. He was a father and set to get married this summer.
“In the ten years we were together, I never once heard him raise his voice,” his fiancée, Nikki Johnson told 12News the day after the crash. “He never spoke ill at me or anyone; it wasn’t in his nature. It just wasn’t the person that he was.”
Calls for change
Danny Glenn Tiner, the driver of the at-fault tractor-trailer crash, was employed by Mr. Bult’s, Inc (MBI), a trucking company out of Illinois.
As of June 29, the company has been involved in 148 crashes, in the last two years, according to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Of those crashes, 40 had been injured, and six had died. The company is rated satisfactory in terms of safety.
“If you’re driving a semi-truck, you need to have a responsibility, and responsibility is to be safe,” Sarah said.
As she honors her son’s legacy by partnering with campaigns that work to prevent distracted drivers and sex trafficking, something they did together for seven years before his passing, she’s pushing for commercial vehicles to have the technology to prevent crashes.
“It all boils down to the insurance companies making it a requirement to put [stopping technology] into the trucks,” Sarah said. “I think that would be very helpful.”
Tiner was jailed on several charges, including five counts of manslaughter, four counts of endangerment, and one count of tampering with physical evidence.
He is being held on a $300,000 secure bond. If found guilty, he could face more than 100 years behind bars.
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