Trucker Was Speeding, Prosecution Says His Trailer Allegedly Hit Two Cars, Killing Three Women And A 10-Month-Old Boy

Geoffery Johnston had filled up his tractor trailer and was heading north to deliver lumber on what he thought would be a typical trip.

The 47-year-old truck driver headed north on U.S. Highway 95 and reached the top of Reisenauer Hill. Heading down it, he shifted gears and had his brakes on.

Suddenly he felt a bang on his trailer and saw smoke behind him in his mirrors. What he discovered later shocked him.

His trailer had allegedly hit two cars, killing three women and a 10-month-old boy.

Prosecutors insist Johnston was speeding and caused the accident. The Caldwell, Idaho, resident is being tried on four counts of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the deaths of Linda Lindberg, 48, of the Spokane Valley; Jennifer Hoobler-Knoke, 27, of Moscow; Melody Cook, 25, of Genesee and her 10-month-old son, Carter Knoke.

Melody Cook was engaged to be married to Hoobler-Knoke’s ex-husband, who was the father of Carter Knoke.

Johnston was caught in a trap the morning of Nov. 3, defense attorney Charles Kovis told a six-member jury Wednesday during opening arguments of Johnston’s trial.

That trap was Reisenauer Hill.

“The hill is poorly marked,” Kovis told jurors. “Mr. Johnston is a safe driver.”

If convicted, Johnston could face up to six months in jail on each count, said Latah County Prosecutor William Thompson Jr.

Accident reconstruction reports show he was going about 74 mph, Thompson said.

Witnesses at the scene said Johnston appeared shaken by the crash.

Latah County Sheriff Jeff Crouch testified he talked to Johnston at the scene and he appeared emotionally distraught.

Crouch told the court Johnston said he had caused the accident and had applied the brakes because he was going too fast down the hill. Crouch said Johnston told him he had anti-lock brakes on the front of his truck, but not on the back. Crouch said that when he asked Johnston how he was doing emotionally, Johnston said he was fine, “but not to think badly of him because he was acting emotional because he thought he had killed people.”

Keith Spickler, a pest control technician from Clarkston, Wash., testified the driver of the truck seemed obviously upset when he first stopped to help the victims.

The driver paced the trailer and then banged his fists on the side of the truck and said he wasn’t proud of his actions, Spickler said.

Shawn Cook was heading to a construction job with a co-worker when he saw the accident. He said he saw the driver of the truck outside the vehicle running around and yelling, “I can’t believe I killed somebody.”

Johnston cooperated with police and had blood and urine tests taken that morning. Those tests indicated he was not under the influence, Thompson said.

Prosecutors said they may finish their case late today or early Friday, when the defense will call witnesses and possibly Johnston himself, to the stand.

Hoobler-Knoke’s father, Mike Hoobler, sat in the courtroom Wednesday.

He’s driven a truck a little bit and his own father was a truck driver, so he understands the rules of the road.

“My dad always told me you gotta know what’s on your truck,” he said.

He said the accident happened on a hill known for its dangerous curves.

“The corner kind of creeps up on you,” he said, adding even in his small Honda he has a hard time coming down the hill. “I don’t know what a trucker would do.”

Hoobler’s father also died in a U.S. Highway 95 accident 38 years ago near Council, Idaho.