Monday marked the first day of a trial for a lawsuit over an accident between a Frito Lay Company truck and two other vehicles.
The crash caused the death of the truck driver and the injury of nine passengers in a van that was hit by the truck.
The trial, in which one of the injured passengers is suing the Frito Lay Company, took place in the Alachua County Civil Courthouse from about 1:30 p.m. to about 4 p.m.
During this time, Bob Spohrer, who represented the plaintiffs, and defense attorneys Dennis Schutt and Penny Schmidt gave opening statements and questioned the plaintiff's first three witnesses.
The accident, which occurred October 12, 2007, took place on Interstate 75 at 7 a.m.
Stephen Bogue, a truck driver for Frito Lay Transportation, was driving to Orlando when he crashed into a Davis Express truck driven by Michael Storch.
Storch, who was unhurt by the accident, was sitting at a complete stop due to an earlier accident that closed southbound lanes. Drivers were detoured off exit 399, the Alachua-High Springs exit.
After Storch was hit, he rear-ended a van transporting 11 employees commuting from Lake City to Shands at UF and Veteran's Affairs hospitals.
To avoid further danger, the van's driver, Montgomery Stephens, swerved off the side of the road.
Bogue's truck caught fire and he was killed. Nine out of the 11 van passengers were injured.
The trial's purpose is to determine the fault of the accident and will continue tomorrow at 9 a.m.
