Attorney: Driver was texting, had porn in truck before deadly crash

Kathy Clark and her husband Craig are still grieving the loss of their daughter, Emily, one of five Georgia Southern University students killed on Interstate-16 in April.

"Every day you hurt a little more, you miss them a little more, and it will never be easy,” said Kathy Clark.

For nearly nine months, the victim's families have sought answers to why the semi-slammed nearly full speed into the girls' SUV – now they have more information.

Attorney Bob Cheeley started getting answers this week at Total Transportation of Mississippi's headquarters in depositions with the driver, John Wayne Johnson, and company safety leaders.

Cheeley says the cab of Johnson's truck was packed with pornography, plus he admitted that he was texting during the time that he was driving."
 
"It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up," Cheeley said.

Cheeley says Johnson told him while he didn't remember what he was doing at the time of the crash but based on Johnson’s answers under oath, it involved a woman sending nude photos.

"He could have very well been either looking at porn in the cab of his truck, or looking at pictures, nude pictures, that this woman had sent of herself to him, which he admitted that she had done,” Cheeley said.

For the Clarks, who sat in on the depositions, the startling admissions have been painful to process.

"Just hurt, just hurts so bad to know that it could have prevented and she didn't have to die in that way,” Karen Clark said.

Earlier this year, WSB-TV’s investigation found at the time of the crash, only 10 pecent of all comparable trucking companies had worse driver safety records than Total Transportation.