A tractor-trailer driver was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and reckless driving in Hanover County Circuit Court on Wednesday for a 2018 crash that left Hanover County Fire & EMS Lt. Brad Clark dead and several other firefighters injured.
The driver, Lester Labarge, faces up to 11 years in prison when he is sentenced.
Circuit Court Judge Patricia Kelly issued the guilty verdicts after a two-day trial that saw 19 witnesses called to the stand, including the injured firefighters and Labarge.
The crash in question happened on October 11, 2018 on Interstate 295 South near exit 38. Clark and the others had just arrived to that location responding to another crash. Labarge lost control of his tractor-trailer when it hydroplaned and crashed into the back of Clark’s fire truck and the firefighters who were standing outside it.