Orlando man charged in October 2022 crash on I-75 that killed three and injured five
A truck driver accused of leaving a fiery wreck on Interstate 75 that killed three people and injured five others last year has been identified and arrested.
Billy Lee Kieffer faces three counts of fail to stop/remain at crash involving death, five counts of fail to stop/remain at crash involving injury/other serious bodily injury, and one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving damage to property.
Records show Kieffer was booked into the county jail on Friday afternoon with bail set at $100,500.
First appearance hearing Saturday morning
Wearing a red and white jail uniform, the 67-year-old Orlando man appeared in court at the jail on Saturday morning in front of Circuit Judge Gregg Jerald.
Handcuffed and standing at the podium, Kieffer learned that, if he posts bond, he cannot operate anything that has wheels, including a bicycle.
The Public Defender's Office was appointed for Kieffer's representation, and his next court date was set for early January.
Documents show Kieffer cannot have any contact with victims Donald Robert Shine, 57, of Gainesville; Zyriel D. Parker, 20, of South Carolina; or Brayan Daniel Garcia, 24, Maria Alejandro Razo-Olvera, 37, and Obeth Nataly Garcia-Rojas, 34, all of Texas.
Kieffer was ticketed for the crash. The violations were improper lane change or course with property damage estimated at more than $70,000.
About the crash
The crash happened the afternoon of Oct. 26, 2022 and involved six vehicles. It happened on I-75 south of the County Road 484 exit.
According to Florida Highway Patrol Cpl. Shaun Lattinville's report, a semitractor-trailer driven by Kieffer was southbound in the right lane. Another semitractor was southbound in the center lane. A third vehicle, a Subaru Legacy, was southbound in the left lane.
Meanwhile, a Dodge Ram 3500 pickup truck was northbound in the center lane of I-75, and a Chevy Tahoe was northbound in the left lane.
Authorities said Kieffer's vehicle failed to maintain its lane and entered the center lane. His trailer's left side hit the right side of the other semitractor-trailer, which forced it into the left lane, where it struck the Subaru.
Both the Subaru and the semitractor-trailer went off the roadway and into the center grass median and hit a guardrail, the report says. The vehicles then continued into the northbound lanes, where the left side front of the semitractor hit the front left side of the Dodge.
The semitractor jacknifed and its trailer detached from the cab. The trailer hit the front left side of the Chevy, whose driver swerved to the right trying to avoid the collision.
Troopers said a sixth vehicle, a Mercury, was struck with debris.
Deaths
The impact ignited a blaze and at least two vehicles caught fire, FHP said.
Three people died: the driver of the second semitractor-trailer, Jodie Lee Williams, 52, of Ocoee; the driver of the Dodge, 32-year-old Richard Terrell Parker of South Carolina; and the driver of the Chevy, Enrique Lopez Masqueda of California.
Fatality: Woman, 29, run over multiple times and killed. Was she standing or lying on U.S. 301 North?
Kieffer did not stop and continued driving south on I-75. Through their investigation, troopers were able to identify Kieffer as the driver.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Arrest made in fiery October 2022 crash on I-75 that killed three
