MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MISSOURI — A dump truck driver who knocked down five streetlights and struck an Interstate 64 overpass while driving with his bed raised had his bond reduced Wednesday from $75,000 to $25,000. Multiple witnesses say they warned him his bed was up. He responded by cursing at them.
Rusty Soden told the judge he has worked as a dump truck driver for about a year and a half and believes he will still have his job if released. The court set a condition of bond: no driving. Soden faces five felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident after striking five separate stop lights in Maryland Heights. Police caught up with him nearly 10 miles away after he hit the I-64 overpass.
Witnesses Tried to Warn Him
Hunter Basham was doing landscaping work along Route 141 on Tuesday when the dump truck drove past with its bed in the air. His boss stepped out and flagged the driver down. “My boss actually got out and told the guy that his bed was up. What we didn’t know was that he had already hit one traffic light,” Basham said. Soden cursed at them and kept driving. “He said some choice words and that’s when I took the video,” Basham said. His video shows the dump truck — bed still raised — taking down a stop light on Route 141 at Creve Coeur Mill Road. According to the criminal complaint, multiple people warned Soden along the route. He cursed at each of them.
The Investigation
St. Louis County Police inspected the truck and found no mechanical issues that could have caused the bed to stay raised. Maryland Heights police say alcohol and drugs do not appear to have played a role. Authorities confirmed Soden held an active CDL at the time of the incident.
Photo credit: FOX2
Multiple witnesses identified the truck as belonging to a company named “HD” from French Village, Missouri. The U.S. DOT lists the company as operating eight trucks and eight drivers. When FOX 2 visited the address on file, it led to a gated residential lakeside community on Goose Creek Lake. When FOX 2 called the company, someone said “no comment” and hung up before hearing why they were calling.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Reporting courtesy of FOX 2.
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