Plea agreement made in fatal dump truck crash

By: Associated Press//May 5, 2015//

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LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — A dump truck driver who had alcohol in his system and admitted checking Facebook before a fatal interstate crash has been convicted of homicide in La Crosse County Circuit Court.

Thirty-six-year-old Francis Rychtik Sr., has pleaded no contest to charges, including homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, in an agreement with prosecutors. The Arpin man was hauling sand for B&R Excavating last July when he hit the back of a Mustang convertible on Interstate 90, setting off a chain reaction crash involving three other vehicles and a semi.

The dump truck landed on top of the convertible and both vehicles caught fire. The 29-year-old driver of the Mustang, Jason Songer of La Crescent, Minn., was killed. Four others were injured. The La Crosse Tribune reports sentencing is scheduled July 21.

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