A Maryland man used marijuana and had been awake for 24 hours before nodding off and crashing a box truck on Interstate 83 in York County last year, killing three construction workers, police said.
“I’m not going to lie, I am running on no sleep. I stayed up 24 hours yesterday,” Reed Davenport told Pennsylvania State Police after the April 17, 2024, crash, according to court documents.
The 3:25 a.m. crash in a construction zone on I-83 south in Fairview Township killed Jesse McKenzie, 24, of Somerset; Robert Hampe, 41, of Meyersdale; and Philson Hinebaugh III, 24, of Johnstown.
On Wednesday, one day before the crash’s one-year anniversary, Davenport, 25, of District Heights, Maryland, was charged with three counts of third-degree murder, three counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI, three counts of homicide by vehicle and 16 related summary/misdemeanor offenses.
An affidavit of probable cause filed by state police gave the following account:
Davenport had a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and was driving a box truck south near mile marker 35.5, when another driver saw him start to drift from the right lane onto the shoulder.
The construction workers, McKenzie, Hampe and Hinebaugh, were standing on the shoulder in the active construction zone when Davenport crashed into them, as well as a construction vehicle parked in the right lane. The construction vehicle had a flashing, directional arrow on it pointing to the left and away from the workers.
The workers were pronounced dead at the scene.
Davenport’s box truck went up a steep embankment and then back onto the shoulder, where it sideswiped a Ford Edge, according to the affidavit. The Ford’s driver was not hurt.
The box truck came to a stop after hitting the concrete barrier separating I-83’s north and southbound lanes. Davenport was not injured.
At the crash scene, a FedEx tractor-trailer driver told troopers he was in the left southbound lane when Davenport passed him in the right lane “at what seemed like a high rate of speed,” the affidavit said.
According to the affidavit, the FedEx driver said Davenport did not try to merge into the left lane with other vehicles and instead drifted off the highway in a way that appeared he was falling asleep.
Police said data from Davenport’s box truck later showed he was going 63 mph entering the construction zone and did not try to brake before crashing into the construction workers.
Davenport consented to and had his blood drawn hours after the crash. Court documents said toxicology tests showed he had marijuana in his system. Pennsylvania does not have a legal threshold for how much marijuana can be in a driver’s system, so any amount found during a blood test is considered illegal.
Court documents said Davenport got his commercial driver’s license in October 2023 and started driving for Factory Motor Parts in February 2024.
The CDL approval process involves getting a medical certificate after a physical by a doctor, on which Davenport verified in July 2023 that he had not used illegal substances in the last two years. He passed a urine test on Jan. 23, 2024, months before the fatal crash, according to the affidavit.
Davenport told troopers his driving schedule includes five stops: two in Maryland, two in Pennsylvania and one in Virginia.
He said he got home around midnight on April 16, 2024, and was busy because his dog had recently had puppies, according to the affidavit. Court documents said Davenport watched the puppies, gave them their shots, walked his dogs, ate and showered before returning to work at 6 p.m. on April 17.
Davenport said he bought a 16-ounce can of Red Bull around 9 p.m. on April 17 but still had some left at the time of the crash, according to the affidavit.
Court documents said he denied using drugs or alcohol, or “nodding off” while driving. Davenport said he did not remember seeing the construction zone, and that the last thing he recalled was coming up a hill on I-83 south and crashing into the back of the construction vehicle.
“It’s like I blacked out,” Davenport told state police, according to the affidavit.
He added that he woke up as his truck hit the construction vehicle, then the workers, court documents said.
A forensic toxicologist who reviewed Davenport’s blood results told police the marijuana in his system could have worsened his fatigue, according to the affidavit.
“Driving is a complex task that requires the operator to perform various divided attention tasks simultaneously,” Dr. Stephanie Marco wrote in the report. “Sleep deprivation can impair an individual’s ability to operate a motor vehicle safely, and [marijuana] may exacerbate this impairment.”
Federal regulations for CDL operators say drivers must be aware of the effects of fatigue, as well as alcohol and drug use. They must have “specific knowledge” on what to do when driving to avoid fatigue, according to the affidavit.
The guidelines also say drivers should not operate commercial vehicles if they are so tired that it is unsafe for them to be behind the wheel, specifically including when they are under the influence.
Court documents said Davenport defied his CDL training when he drove after going 24 hours without sleep with marijuana in his system.
Davenport has not been arraigned on the charges as of Thursday.
