Truck driver guilty of vehicular homicide

The driver of a truck involved in a 2005 accident that killed UW seismologists Tony Qamar and Dan Johnson pled guilty two weeks ago to two counts of vehicular homicide.

Garland Massingham was sentenced Jan. 16 to 54 months in prison.

Qamar and Johnson were killed Oct. 4, 2005 when their car was crushed after the logging truck lost its load.

"This was a very complex case," said Charles Williams, Massingham's attorney. "Every aspect needs to be evaluated on an individual level."

The accident involved many factors including mechanical malfunction, disregard and intoxication, Williams said.

Massingham's truck and trailer had a mechanical defect in the construction of the trailer, Williams said.

"One of the bunks (the device holding the logs on the truck) had half as many bolts as would be standard in the industry," Williams said. "You can put some of the blame on the driver, but without mechanical engineering expertise, the untrained eye would never see the defect."

The truck was also overloaded, Williams said.

"This practice of overloading logs is something that occurs commonly," he said. "Do you put that extra log on or not?"

Generally, overloading is a cost-effective option.

"Even if you get a fine for having a truck that is overloaded, it is cheaper for the company to pay that fine than to pay for another trip," Williams said.

In this case, because the truck was overloaded, the center of gravity was too high, and this caused the truck to tip.

This, Williams said, also brings up the question of blame.

Drivers neither load the trucks nor are they given the proper training to gauge exactly how much weight they are carrying.

Massingham also had signs of methamphetamine in his bloodstream after the accident.

However, reports say this was not a determining factor in the accident.

"There is no clear 'bright line rule' for whether someone has too much methamphetamine in their system," Williams said. "There is a way to test alcohol content so why don't they have a quantitative way to check for methamphetamine, marijuana and other controlled substances that are commonly related to driving accidents?"

The disasters that occurred in this incident could have easily been avoided with some minor training, Williams said.

"It is good for the public to see the background and know what actually goes on [in these cases]," Williams said. "When a tragedy like this happens, we should learn from the loss and honor [Dan Johnson and Tony Qamar's] lives."

Both Qamar and Johnson made a great contribution to the scientific work that they valued so much, said Bill Steele, a friend and colleague of the men.

"[After recent events] we are somewhat of a new facility, but what Tony left behind is the respect and willingness to help those around him," Steele said. "He was excited about life ... we really miss him."

Qamar had been with the UW since the early 80's, while Johnson was a more recent addition to the department.

The losses of Qamar and Johnson are felt every day in the Seismology department at the UW.

"Going to work wasn't just going to work ... it was life and all of its complexities," said friend and colleague Steve Malone.

Reach reporter Celia Hunko at news@thedaily.washington.edu.