Alpha DialloOhio truck driver Alpha Diallo, 42, was sentenced Jan. 31 to 6-15 years in prison on a charge of reckless driving causing death for his role in a 2015 crash that killed an 83-year-old woman.
Prosecutors alleged Diallo, who is originally from Sierra Leone, was high on oxycodone at the time of the crash south of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Forensic evidence showed he’d opened a Facebook quiz on his phone called “What Country in the World Best Fits Your Personality?” seconds before the crash.
During the trial, a witness alleged Diallo never appeared to hit the brakes before the crash. Diallo said he did not recall taking a Facebook quiz but did admit to speeding at the time of the crash. He claimed the oxycodone he’d taken was prescribed to him by a doctor to treat sickle cell anemia.
He told the court he’d taken the oxycodone the morning of the crash after he was done fasting for Ramadan. Diallo testified he was trying to pass another truck and did not see that traffic had become backed up, and he saw the cars too late. He crashed into standing traffic on U.S. 23, killing an 83-year-old woman and injuring two other individuals.
Diallo was sentenced in Washtenaw County Trial Court in Ann Arbor.
