HUNTSVILLE, Mo. (AP) - An Illinois man has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in a crash that killed an Amish buggy driver earlier this year in north-central Missouri.
Jeffrey Fleming, 35, Staunton, Ill., pleaded guilty Monday in Randolph County Circuit Court to careless and imprudent driving. He was sentenced to eight days of shock time in jail, a one-year suspended jail sentence, two years' probation and 40 hours of community service.
Fleming was initially charged with second-degree manslaughter in the January death of Eli Borntrager of Madison, Mo. Borntrager was northbound on U.S. 63 near Moberly when his buggy was hit from behind.
Phone records showed Fleming sent a text message minutes before the crash. But he denied texting or talking on his cell phone when his car struck the buggy.