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Charges Dropped Against Fleet in Fatal Georgia Crash

Criminal charges have been dropped against Total Transportation of Mississippi in relation to a fatal accident involving one of its drivers that killed five people in April 2015.

Five Georgia Southern University nursing students were killed in the seven-vehicle crash on Interstate 16 when the truck driver, John Wayne Johnson, failed to stop in time, careening into traffic slowed on the interstate. In addition to the five deaths, three other students were injured in the crash.

The District Attorney General of Georgia Atlantic Judicial Circuit decided against pursuing criminal charges after Total Transportation agreed to spend $200,000 to set up a nonprofit group to offer nursing students financial aid, according to a report in the Savannah Morning News.

The company has already settled wrongful death lawsuits related to the case, with at least one victim receiving $14 million.

Johnson was indicted on multiple charges of vehicular homicide as well as a slew of other counts, including reckless driving.

In depositions from the civil suits, it was revealed that Johnson was hired by Total Transportation after he disclosed to the company that he had been fired for falling asleep at the wheel.

Related: Murder Indictments for Driver, Fleet in Fatal Georgia Crash

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