Apr 21, 2021
The North Dakota Supreme Court has upheld negligent homicide convictions for Douglas Eugene Landis, 65, of Dagmar, Mont. Landis was driving a semi truck east on the business loop near New Town and lost control on the snow-covered road as he was negotiating a curve on Oct. 5, 2018. The semi crossed the center line and struck the westbound pickup driven by David Wilcox, 28, of Tempe, Ariz., head on. Wilcox and his passenger, Taylor Denny, 22, of Phoenix, Ariz., were killed; Landis was not injured.
Landis had argued that there was no evidence he had been negligent. The prosecution stated that Landis had been driving or working for 24 of the 28 hours prior to the accident and driver fatigue could have contributed to the crash. The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that there was enough evidence to support the guilty verdict.