Semi driver pleads guilty to charges from I-465 crash killing mom, 18-month-old twins

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A 57-year-old semi driver has pleaded guilty to criminal charges resulting from a July crash on I-465 that killed a mother and her 18-month-old twin daughters, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said Monday.

Bruce Pollard pleaded guilty but mentally ill to three counts of reckless homicide, a count of reckless operations of a vehicle in a highway work zone, and seven counts of reckless driving. He could face from three to nine years in a state prison. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set.

The crash happened around noon July 14 in the eastbound lanes of I-465 on the north side near the Keystone Avenue interchange. Pollard, driving a semi carrying metal shelving, plowed into stopped traffic at a high rate of speed, hitting six cars and overturning a truck, police said. Alanna Koons, 29, and her twin, 18-month-old daughters, June and Ruby, died int he crash. Seven other people were sent to area hospitals, police said. 

Prosecutors said Pollard failed to abide by multiple information and warning signs indicating an upcoming construction zone for several miles along the interstate prior to the crash. According to witnesses, he was travelling at a high rate when he changed lanes and failed to brake when he struck the stationary vehicle of Koons. Indianapolis Fire Department said the first car hit by the semi burst into flames before hitting two other cars, overturning a truck with a trailer, and pinning a car against the interstate shoulder and dragging it 300 yards before hitting two more cars.

Based on the investigation, Pollard’s semitrailer is believed to have been travelling at 65 mph at the time of the crash, prosecutors said. The crash occurred within an active construction zone with a speed limit of 45 mph.

Pollard was treated for a minor abrasion at the scene, the fire department said.

Pollard remained in the Marion County jail on Monday afternoon.