Missouri man sentenced in fatal Iowa truck crash in 2023

VOLGA, Iowa (KCRG) – The Missouri man charged in a 2023 incident in Iowa in which two people fell from the tailgate of a truck he was driving has been sentenced to 120 days in jail.

Tucker Baker of St. Joseph, Missouri, was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. The incident occurred on Domino Road near the Volga Campground.

He pleaded guilty to lesser charges: one count of manslaughter and one count of reckless driving.

Investigators said videos of the incident obtained by witnesses showed three trucks accelerating rapidly one after the other.

Baker was driving the last of the three, a white GMC Sierra with seven people inside. He was 24 years old at the time of the incident.

The two men injured in the crash were 24-year-old William Gross and 21-year-old Brett Gross, both of St. Joseph, Missouri. They were sitting on the tailgate of the truck when it accelerated so quickly that they fell off.

Both were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. William Gross later succumbed to his injuries.

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