Photo: Maine Department of Public Safety
Authorities in Maine said that a truck driver who has been charged over a fatal accident last year was streaming Netflix at the time of the crash.
David Herring, 40, rear-ended a car in front of him as traffic slowed down on the Maine Turnpike. A retired couple, Geoff and Elizabeth "Betsy" Gattis, was killed in the crash.
Herring was charged with manslaughter, and prosecutors are claiming that he was distracted because he was watching a show about teenage magicians.
Herring after pleaded not guilty after rejecting a plea deal. His lawyer claims that Herring was not watching the show. Instead, he was just listening to it through the truck's speakers.
"He wasn't watching Netflix. He was listening to audio," defense attorney Robert Andrews said.
Andrews explained that Herring was distracted when a vehicle in front of him abruptly slowed and pulled off the highway. When he realized that cars in front of him had slowed down, it was too late for him to stop, and he slammed into the Gattis' car at bout 65 mph.
Andrews said that he plans to file a motion to dismiss the charges against his client.
"Not every accident that occurs where someone dies or is really hurt is a crime," Andrews told the Portland Press Herald. "There is a difference between civil negligence and criminal negligence."