FARGO — A last-minute plea deal means the trial is off for a tow truck driver who abandoned his truck on Interstate 94 in rural Cass County.
Mario Butler, 45, was scheduled to go on trial next week on a long list of charges, including negligent homicide.
However, on Friday, May 3, that most serious charge was dropped when Butler signed a three-page plea agreement.
According to court papers, back in January of 2022, Butler said his tow truck was having mechanical issues and it broke down in the right westbound lane by Tower City.
He called for another tow truck, but someone else driving by picked him up, and gave him a ride.
It was 9 p.m. and dark. An SUV with a family from Bismarck was headed west and rear ended the abandoned tow truck.
A passenger, 43-year-old Kelli Haggerot was killed. Two children were critically injured.
Her husband was driving the SUV. According to court papers, he looked down at his phone seconds before crashing into the tow truck.
Two weeks prior to the crash, Butler plead guilty to driving with a suspended license and was arrested on the same charge two months later.
His license has been suspended or revoked a total of nine times.
According to the plea deal, Butler will plead guilty to reckless endangerment. He will serve four months in jail.
Butler will appear in court Monday.
Matt Henson is an Emmy award-winning reporter/photographer/editor for WDAY. Prior to joining WDAY in 2019, Matt was the main anchor at WDAZ in Grand Forks for four years.
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