A truck driver who killed three people in a fiery freeway crash has pleaded guilty to falsifying information about his medical condition to keep his commercial driver’s license.
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge sentenced Bradley Cooley to 1.75 years in prison.
RELATED: Deadly loophole? Semi-truck crash highlights gap in CDL oversight
And while the sentencing was in November, the crash victims’ family hopes state lawmakers will take notice of the gap in state and federal oversight that allowed Cooley to remain behind the wheel.
“His actions, his forgeries, directly caused deaths,” said Alyssa Frankel DePue, a sister and aunt of the victims.
On Aug. 29, 2018, a truck driven by Cooley veered into oncoming traffic on Interstate 10 near Wild Horse Pass, killing Kimberly Frankel and her two children, Solomon and Tova, who were five and three years old.
Cooley has a history of seizures, records show.
But on multiple occasions, Cooley denied having seizures or epilepsy during medical evaluations to keep his CDL and didn’t list the anti-seizure medications he was prescribed and taking.
People with seizure conditions are generally prohibited from holding a CDL, which is considerably more restrictive than a regular driver’s license.
“This defendant has been dishonest on multiple occasions,” county prosecutor Edward Paine said during the sentencing hearing.
He also told the judge: “The people of Arizona, through the legislature, have agreed that there are rules for CDL drivers. And the most basic one, the one that this man has failed, and has repeatedly failed, before and after the Frankel’s loss, is simply to be honest.”
in Arizona -- and most other states -- drivers are expected to self-report if they’ve had a seizure. Doctors and other medical professionals are not required to notify transportation officials.
According to the Epilepsy Foundation, only six states have mandatory reporting laws for physicians.
Frankel’s family believes more has to be done.
“Because he did not disclose he had epilepsy….I lost everything,” said Pearly Frankel, Kimberly’s mother. “My daughter and my two baby grandkids, I’ll never get them back.”
Cooley faced three criminal charges for allegedly forging multiple documents to keep his CDL over the years, court records show.
He pleaded guilty to a single felony count.
Cooley did not face charges specifically for the deadly crash.
A judge denied a Department of Public Safety search warrant following the crash, records show. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office also didn’t have enough evidence to prove Cooley suffered a seizure before the crash.
At the sentencing, Cooley spoke briefly and apologized generally for his actions.
“I'm super sorry for anything that I did. Any consequences, anything that’s happened in this whole situation, I’m deeply... my condolences are there 100%,” he told the judge. “I’m super sorry for everything that’s happened. So, I’m very sorry.”
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@abc15.com.
