The State : Trucker Gets 4-Year Term

Truck driver Neil Adams was sentenced to four years in state prison for killing three Dutch tourists last September when he rear-ended their vans as they slowed for a Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 5 at San Onofre. San Diego County Superior Court Judge Anthony Joseph said the sentence was the toughest he could impose. Adams, 34, was under the influence of beer and methamphetamines and was traveling at nearly 60 m.p.h. when he slammed into the back of a slow-moving van carrying half of the touring group of Dutch musicians. That van was catapulted into the second van, carrying the balance of the tour group, which was returning to Buena Park from a day of sightseeing in San Diego. “If substantial numbers of long-haul drivers rely on methamphetamines in order to make a living and drive in stretches of 36 hours, that’s pretty frightening to the average motorist,” Joseph said.