Truck driver indicted in I-71 crash that killed family pleads not guilty

DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) -- A truck driver that was indicted in a fatal Interstate 71 crash that killed a family and involved nine vehicles pleaded not guilty to all charges. Modou Ngom, 50, of Columbus, appeared in Delaware County court Tuesday afternoon and pleaded not guilty to all seven counts he is facing. He was indicted on three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and four counts of vehicular assault. His earlier bond which was set at $500,000 remained and the last pre-trial date was scheduled for June 1. Ngom's trial is currently slated to begin on June 23. Ngom was driving a semi-truck on April 11 at 6:30 p.m. on I-71 near the U.S. 36/State Route 37 interchange. A crash report said he was following to close to the car in front and failed to atop when approaching traffic. The truck hit the car in front and began a chain-reaction crash that involved nine vehicles in total. Among the victims of the crash were Lynnea Soposki, 36, Luke Soposki, 37, and their 1-year-old son, Logan, who died. Three others were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Records show Ngom holds a valid commercial driver's license in Ohio and that he was noted for a few traffic citations since 2007. He was involved in a 2024 crash where a piece of equipment fell off his truck and hit a car behind him. The crash report noted he was driving an "unsafe vehicle."