A man charged with manslaughter after a fatal crash in June 2025 appeared Tuesday for a court appearance in Houston.
William R. White III, 42, is charged after an accident near Dog’s Bluff river access on Route 17 west of Houston claimed an 80-year-old Bucyrus resident and seriously injured a passenger.
White is to appear for a pre-trial conference on April 21. A case management review will occur on May 26 in Pulaski County, and a jury trial is planned May 27-29 in Waynesville, Brendon Fox, circuit judge, decided. White remains in jail.
White is charged with DWI involving a death, first-degree involuntary manslaughter, DWI involving serious physical injury, second-degree assault and armed criminal action. All are felonies. He also is a defendant in a civil lawsuit.
White, of St. Louis, was driving a rented southbound 2021 International box truck that struck a 2014 red Dodge Journey, operated by Lonnie Huff, 80, of Bucyrus, in the rear. The SUV was stopped in a Missouri Department of Transportation construction zone where paving was underway. A passenger, Patricia Rosen, 79, of Bucyrus, was flown from the scene to Cox South. Mr. Huff was pronounced deceased at the scene.
White’s eyes were red and dilated, a state patrol officer noted when he walked to the suspect’s hospital bed. White told the officer that he recalled the truck’s seat was bouncing and the next thing he recalled was waking up in an ambulance. He couldn’t remember any construction signs, he told the officer. He said he’d drunk alcohol on Father’s Day, the previous day, and smoked marijuana. He denied smoking pot in the vehicle, adding he kept it “professional” while at work, which involved the delivery of Amazon packages. He had made a delivery at the U.S. Post Office at Hartville. A report says small pieces of marijuana — buds — were found near the driver’s seat.
As the patrol conducted its investigation, a witness said the truck, which was headed to Houston, never braked. Another person said he saw the truck round a corner, and it looked like the driver had a cellular telephone in his hand and was waving his hands. A MoDOT worker said he was nearly hit while holding a stop sign where asphalt paving was occurring, according to court documents.