Two men have been charged with two counts each of involuntary manslaughter after a pickup truck being towed by another pickup truck last month came loose, struck a motorcycle and killed its riders, Topekans Anthony and Tamara Vardys.
Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay announced in a news release Friday that his office had filed charges against Randy Dean Clelland and Rigo Oliver Phinney linked to the crash, which Topeka police said occurred just after 10 p.m. March 20 at the intersection of N.E. US-24 highway and Meriden Road.
Clelland and Phinney were using a pickup truck and a chain to tow another pickup, which was disabled, when the chain came loose as the pickup in front tried to turn north from US-24 onto Meriden Road, Kagay said.