Man Distracted By Sandwich, GPS Enters Plea In Fatal Crash
GEORGETOWN TWP. (WWJ/AP) - A 40-year-old man has pleaded guilty to causing a chain-reaction crash that killed a 13-year-old western Michigan boy.
Travis Fox, of Crown Point, Indiana, will be sentenced Dec. 22 after issuing his plea to moving violation causing death, a one-year misdemeanor.
Fox told police he was eating a sandwich and checking his GPS while driving August 3 on I-196 in Georgetown Township, southwest of Grand Rapids. Traffic in front of him had slowed for a construction zone and Fox, who didn't notice the backup, said he couldn't stop in time to avoid a collision.
Talsma was in the backseat of a minivan that was rear ended by Fox's pickup truck. He was briefly pinned in the vehicle before being pronounced dead on the scene.
Three other vehicles were involved in the crash and nine people ended up in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Defense attorney Charles Chamberlain said Fox was in Michigan on business at the time of the crash and has "taken this very seriously."
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