Plea deal in works for driver in deadly overloaded van crash
PRINCETON, Ind. (AP) – Attorneys say they’re working on a plea agreement for the driver of an overloaded van that overturned on a southwestern Indiana highway, killing two women.
The defense attorney for 30-year-old James Allen of Washington, Indiana, and a deputy prosecutor told a Gibson County judge Thursday that they were negotiating for him to plead guilty to some charges in connection with the September crash on Interstate 69 about 20 miles northeast of Evansville.
The Princeton Daily Clarion reports Allen’s sentencing hearing is set for April 25.
Authorities say the 16-passenger van was loaded with 24 people, many of them Haitian refugees who live in the Washington area whom Allen was driving to an Evansville factory. Charges against Allen include causing death while driving under the influence of marijuana.
