Trucker acquitted in I-70 crash that killed 4

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Boone County jury on Wednesday acquitted a truck driver in a 2006 crash that killed four family members.

The jury found George Albright Jr., 63, of Clarksville, Tenn., not guilty of four counts of second-degree involuntary manslaughter.

Beverly Garrett, 57, Beulah Hunter, 94, Elois Jeans, 81, and Anita Gibbs, 55, died in the June 1, 2006, crash. The women were in the same car driving from Kansas City to a family celebration in Kankakee, Ill.

In April, survivors of three of the deceased settled a federal wrongful death lawsuit related to the fatal accident for $18 million.

Albright's defense presented evidence during the two-day trial that the driver had a diabetic episode, "which basically put him in an altered state of consciousness" before the eight-vehicle pileup, Columbia attorney Mike Holder said.

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Information from: Columbia Daily Tribune, http://www.columbiatribune.com