Big Rig driver facing vehicular manslaughter charges after barreling through Thomasville traffic light

THOMASVILLE, Ala. (WALA) - The driver of an 18-wheeler who barreled into several cars stopped at a red light in Thomasville Tuesday, May 6, 2025 killing two people is charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter and remains in the Clarke County Jail. The tight-knit community is in mourning as the investigation looks into how this could have happened.

“No brakes. No brakes. No brakes nowhere. He just kept getting it,” Mary Austin recalled. “He just knocked them all out of the way and kept going.”

Austin lives along Highway 43 and was just getting out of her car when she said she saw an 18-wheeler, traveling at highway speed smash into the back of four stopped cars at the red light in front of her house. Thomasville Police said video taken by other drivers confirms what Austin saw.

Wilcox Academy coach, 53-year-old Woodie Earl Beck III and 37-year-old Ashley Marie Springer McDonald died at the scene. They were driving the first two cars impacted. Austin rushed to help but said there was nothing she could do but call 9-1-1.

“Wish we could have did more. We couldn’t do nothing,” Austin said despairingly.

There are many questions that law enforcement must now sort out. The driver of the big rig has been identified as 45-year-old Andrii Dmyterko, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania resident whom police said is in the US on a work visa. There was a second driver in the truck who was off duty. There has been a language barrier, Thomasville mayor, Sheldon Day saying the two could only speak Russian.

Police said the truck he was driving was loaded with metal shavings and its route originated in Chicago. City officials said they’ve been able to rule out a heart attack as a cause, but not much else at this time.

“Did he fall asleep? Did he have some…was he distracted by his phone? His phone has been confiscated. They’ll know for sure. They’ll match the time of the accident,” Thomasville mayor, Sheldon Day said. “If he was on his phone, that could elevate it to another level. Then…then, the other thing is, Heaven forbid, was it intentional? We don’t know. We don’t think so.”

The tragic news spread quickly through Clarke County and beyond, resonating with those whose lives Beck and McDonald touched. A beloved coach, who had such a positive influence on so many and a mother who not only leaves behind her loved ones, but who also touched the lives of folks she never knew, like Santana McCaskey who felt compelled to go to the scene of the crash with her son and daughter to show that Ashley McDonald made a difference to her.

“She was sweet. Every time I went to Jack’s, she was just sweet. Like, every time I went to the window, if I knew it was her that was going to help me, it was just okay, okay, I’ve got someone with great customer service,” McCaskey reflected as she and her family placed a bouquet of flowers near the crash site.

With so many questions that still need answers, Mayor Day is asking two things from the community right now. Number one, patience with this ongoing investigation and number two and most importantly, prayers for the family and friends of those who lost their lives.