The driver of a water truck that overturned in January, killing his 6-year-old daughter, was charged with vehicular homicide and child abuse Thursday, according to court records.
On Jan. 31 at roughly 2 p.m., Levi Calvin was allegedly speeding down Centerline Road in an area where trucks were limited to 10 miles per hour, according to court records. Police said their investigation revealed the 19,500-pound truck with a full water load rounded a corner on two wheels and skidded more than 149 feet before flipping on its side and tumbling 300 feet down an embankment. The truck finally came to a halt after crashing into a tree.
Emergency crews extracted Calvin from the heavily damaged truck with the jaws of life.
Less than four feet tall and weighing just 45 pounds, Alevia Calvin was unrestrained in the passenger seat, police said. She was pronounced dead two hours later from her injuries.
While St. John mourned with a candlelight vigil and raised money for the Calvin family, police investigated the crash as a potential homicide.
Calvin operated the water truck occasionally and had been warned by both police and the trucking company owner against transporting his daughter in the vehicle, police said. Unauthorized passengers were not covered by the trucking company’s insurance and she was not in a car seat or wearing a seatbelt, according to court records.
Police said the truck’s tires and brakes had been in good condition that dry, sunny day.
“Based upon my training and experience, I understand that skid mark measurements of this length are consistent with a speed in excess !0 mph, as well as inconsistent with traveling at a rate of speed that was reasonable or prudent given the actual and potential hazards as the water truck passed around the curve, and inconsistent with what was necessary to maintain control and avoid collision,” police told the Superior Court.
Calvin was charged with vehicular homicide, child abuse, aggravated child abuse leading to a child’s death, child neglect, negligent driving, operating a vehicle without a lap and shoulder restraint, and transporting a child under 13 without an appropriate child restraint system.
Calvin’s arraignment is scheduled for June 25.
