STARKVILLE, Miss.–This may be a lesson in why what you can get from a vehicle’s computer is so important. Sawyer Steed was accused of putting his foot on the pedal and hitting the gas the night the truck he was driving hit a bump and knocked buddy Kaleb Barker out of the truck bed and then running him over in a Starkville parking lot. Now a grand jury has said that was not what happened.
Charges against Steed were reduced when a grand jury heard evidence that the truck’s computer said the truck actually accelerated on its own, reported WCBI TV in Columbus.
Barker, from Lucedale, was 18 when he died after the Sept. 17 incident.
Steed had been facing an aggravated DUI charge, which said he was responsible for Barker’s death.
Now another jury will be put together to try Steed on a DUI 1st offense charge. A trial date has not been set.
