CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A truck driver who caused a high-profile 2022 crash on the West Virginia Turnpike has been ordered to pay more than $266,000 in restitution after polluting creeks in Fayette and Kanawha counties.
Dennis Eugene West, 58, of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, who was both the driver of the truck and owned the trucking business, crashed on Aug. 24, 2022, on the bridge over Skitter Creek. He was under the influence of alcohol.
West’s truck was carrying totes containing alkyl dimethylamine, a chemical used in cleaning products, that ruptured and sent the chemical first into Skitter Creek and then into Paint Creek. The spill killed fish and other aquatic life and residents who have well water along Paint Creek expressed concern about residue from the leak they continued to see after it rained.
West admitted to driving drunk in his federal criminal case. He was sentenced to probation and fined $5,000. He also pleaded guilty on behalf of his trucking business, Gadsden, Gaillard and West LLC, to negligent discharge of pollutants into United States waters. The company was ordered to pay $900,000 in restitution that was covered by West’s insurance carrier.
“The defendant chose to transport a hazardous chemical while intoxicated, and that reckless decision didn’t just break the law — it put lives at risk and scarred this community’s environment,” said United States Attorney Moore Capito. “What followed, however, was a remarkable show of professionalism and resolve. I want to recognize the investigators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, and the West Virginia State Police, whose work ensured accountability in this case. Equally important are the first responders — men and women who ran toward danger, not away from it — who secured the scene, protected the public, and worked tirelessly, hour after hour, to contain the damage and begin restoring what was harmed. Their swift, coordinated response turned what could have been far worse into a situation this community can recover from. Their commitment deserves not just our thanks, but our respect.”
The Kanawha and Fayette county commission previously sued the trucking company. The lawsuit settled out of court in 2023 for $500,000 which was split between the two counties.
The Kanawha County Commission paid its legal fees out of the settlement and put aside money for the Paint Creek Watershed Association.
“They were the ones that did all the hard work in getting that creek back to its glory,” Kanawha County Commissioner Lance Wheeler said at the time.