URBANDALE, Iowa — A Michigan truck driver has been charged with homicide by vehicle after police say he struck and killed a tow truck driver on Nov. 12 along Interstate 80.
According to an Iowa State Patrol (ISP) report, the accident happened on the night of Nov. 12 in Urbandale as Dmytro Prysich, 54, of Hamtramck, Michigan, was driving his big rig westbound on I-80 just east of the 86th Street exit.
ISP said that he was under the influence of alcohol when he struck and killed 45-year-old Joshua Villa of Adel, Iowa. Police said Villa was standing on the right shoulder of the interstate tending to a stalled vehicle when Prysich’s rig struck the tow truck.
Villa was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The report said that Prysich did not stop after causing the accident but was later pulled over by the Clive Police Department.
Prysich reportedly told the officer that “he thought he had hit a bird.”
The report then mentions the physical appearance of Prysich, describing that he showed impairment during the field sobriety testing, and a breath test showed his blood-alcohol level was over .08.
Prysich was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail. He was charged with homicide by vehicle, leaving the scene of a deadly accident and failure to change lanes upon approach to emergency stationary vehicles.
A $500,000 cash-only bond has been set.
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