Trucker acquitted of manslaughter in 2001 crash that killed fi

MARSHALL, Mo. -- A truck driver accused of causing a crash that killed five people is innocent of criminal man-slaughter, a judge ruled.

Saline County Circuit Judge Dennis Rolf choked back tears Friday as he ruled the circumstances of the crash last August failed to meet the state's guidelines for criminal manslaughter.

The trucker, John Kendrix, hugged weeping family members after the verdict ended the three-day, non-jury trial.

"I just want to be with my family," Kendrix said.

Kendrix, 44, of Moultrie, Ga., was found guilty of misdemeanor failure to keep a proper motor carrier driver's record. He was ordered to pay a $400 fine plus court costs.

Rolf, while expressing sympathy for the families of those killed in the crash, said Kendrix did not intend to cross the median when his eastbound tractor-trailer slammed into a westbound pickup towing a horse trailer about 70 miles east of Kansas City.

Killed were Debra Sprouse, 45, and her children, Ashley Sprouse, 14, and Zachary Corn, 7, all of Lee's Summit, as well as Ashley Curl, 15, of Overland Park, Kan., and Scott Schrier, 45, of Lee's Summit.

Prosecutors contended Kendrix fell asleep after ingesting a mixture of cold medication and caffeine. The defense had countered Kendrix blacked out from cough syncope -- a condition in which uncontrollable coughing may trigger a blackout.

The judge said he did not believe the prosecution proved its claim Kendrix took enough cold medicine to pass out.

Kendrix said Friday night he had not decided yet whether to return to truck driving.