Van Driver Speaks After Crash That Killed Four Amish Men — While Semi Driver’s Attorneys State: “We Do Not Believe A Crime Occurred”
It has been three months since the devastating February 3rd crash in Jay County, Indiana that killed four members of the local Amish community. The crash drew national attention to the question of “chameleon carriers” in the shipping industry.
Since the tragedy, there have been several significant developments — including that the semi driver has been formally charged, and the van driver who survived has spoken publicly about what happened.
The Van Driver Speaks
Donald Stipp, 55, was driving the “Amish taxi” van that afternoon, transporting the four men home from a construction job, when a semi driven by Bekzhan Beishekeev crossed into his lane and struck the van head-on. He was just minutes from getting them home.
Stipp told WTHR that he does not remember that day. The crash left him with broken ribs, a lacerated arm, and brain injuries.
A truck driver named Thomas Williams was traveling directly behind Stipp’s van and witnessed the collision. He spoke to WTHR:
“He didn’t hit his brakes, that I could tell. Hit that van right in front of me and hit it head-on.”
Williams has nearly three decades in the trucking industry and said he does not believe a properly trained professional would have veered into oncoming traffic. He also had to cut Stipp’s seatbelt to free him from the wreckage.
Stipp’s message about the four men who died — Henry Eicher, 50, his sons Menno, 25, and Paul, 18, and family friend Simon Girod, 23 — was simple:
“Nice people. That should have never happened. Should have never happened to them.”
He also said: “I’ll never get in another van again.” Williams, for his part, said the images from that day haven’t left him: “Every time I close my eyes, I see that accident.” You can view the full WTHR investigative report below:
Charges Filed; Attorneys Promise “Vigorous” Defense
The semi driver, Bekzhan Beishekeev, 30, a Kyrgyzstan national, faces serious charges – four counts of Reckless Homicide and three counts of Criminal Recklessness.
As we covered previously, Beishekeev had earlier been taken into ICE custody on immigration grounds, separate from the crash investigation. The WTHR report describes him as bouncing back and forth between the Jay County Jail, where he has been held on a $100,000 bond, and ICE custody.
As reported by WISH last month, his attorneys, Michael Cunningham and Kathie Perry, released a joint statement saying they intend to fight the charges:
“While we believe this was a tragic accident, we do not believe the evidence will prove a crime occurred; and we look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Beishekeev’s constitutional rights in court and telling the full story throughout this process.”
They also pushed back on characterizations of his legal status, arguing that Beishekeev had been inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the asylum process and was lawfully present in the country at the time of the crash.
Broader Fallout
The crash has had ripple effects beyond the courtroom, and after getting national attention has thrown a spotlight on suspect practices in the trucking industry. In the aftermath, authorities have taken steps against unqualified drivers:
Since the crash, Indiana lawmakers passed legislation adding new oversight of commercial driver’s license holders’ legal status and a requirement to demonstrate English proficiency.
Sen. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, created a Truck Safety Tipline to report drivers suspected of being in the country illegally, unauthorized to operate or a truck, “or who cannot meet required English-language safety standards”.
On the industry side, federal regulators have accused Beishekeev’s employer, AJ Partners, of being part of a network of so-called “chameleon carriers” – trucking companies which change names, identification numbers, and take other steps to evade safety oversight.
In WTHR’s report, we learn that industry insiders had been tracking AJ Partners for six to eight months before the crash, and that the company continued hauling freight after the collision and before the federal government shut them down.
Rob Carpenter of TruckSafe Consulting, who had been following the company, put it bluntly:
“We had been following them for the last six or eight months of door swapping, markings swapping, plate swapping. So, we knew. It’s just nobody did anything yet.”
A big part of the problem seems to be on the side of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which comes off as being much too undersized to deal with the challenge of potentially thousands of chameleon carriers. There are more layers to that aspect of the story and I recommend reading or viewing the whole piece.
In any case it seems that what happened to Donald Stipp and his Amish passengers in February is not just about one driver.
But that driver will have his day in court. Beishekeev’s next court appearance will be a pretrial hearing on May 27. The charges he faces carry a maximum sentence of nearly 30 years’ imprisonment.
From one Amish Taxi Driver to Another
Oh my stars, God’s hands were in this situation. It sounds like this horrific tragedy is bringing to light problems in the trucking industry that will make the roads safer for us all.
I’m grateful the driver came through. I don’t blame him for never getting in a van again – as a taxi driver to the Amish I’ve seen a lot and experienced a lot. It’s a dangerous job – one thing I always kept in mind while driving my Amish passengers was to watch the other drivers around me.
I’d love to hear more from the driver about how the Amish community has supported him in his recovering and trauma because that’s what they do. They surrounded the wife and family of Charles Roberts with love and support after her husband killed those innoscent Amish girls in the Nickle Mines school shooting in 2006.
The Amish believe that it is better to give others a piece of your heart than a piece of your mind.
CDL
It has now become common knowledge in some states a CDL’s were being issued like candy. NO test required…..California and Penn. leading the way.
Lisa
This man should have NEVER been in the country, given a driver’s license, or hired by this awful company. A disgrace!
Jail for Company!
This illegal should face a murder charge as well as the people who hired him!
Correction
Correction: Four murder charges!
A vigorous defense?
Wouldn’t it be nice if someday a person charged with serious crimes could not find an attorney to represent them? They’re always seem to be some attorneys around who can find some kind of defense for anybody who has been charged with doing serious harm to their fellow man. Make the defendant tell his own story or raise his own defense.
“Translator” tells you everything. The Biden administration/democrat Bolsheviks, allowed him in the country, then the fake carriers employed him. FOUR men dead,.. who shouldn’t be. He wasn’t qualified to drive a semi, he chose to drive a semi, the Biden administration gave him their blessings,. He is liable.
Immigration ...
.. causes lots of problems. I was commercial driver – now retired from this job.
In Germany you can barely find a commercial driver who has european roots.
Most haven’t even basic school-skills (can’t count more then fingers on a hand and completely illiterate). Nevertheless the guys get their (very likely faked) driving licence from their (who knows where from country) copied to an european document (don’t aks me how – but it is an official document issued by the autorities) and they just need to listen a course over 5 days. No exam at the end – just be there asleep or drinking coffee while somebody explains the theory of truck-driving. The course is in German – a language none of the drivers understand.
14 years amish hauling
i am happy the driver survived ,,,i dont know but i would say he was wearing a seatbelt and the amish were not!!!!! we english drivers have to fight for them to wear seatbelts and put children in car seats,safety is not important to most cummunitys,every accident good be prevented in my mind ,wether they are at home or on the road,i actually was asked to take an amish boy,no shoes on summer,, his dad ran over his foot with a lift truck,,,no common sense,,they dont want to here an english answer.