- Associated Press - Tuesday, September 13, 2011

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An Alabama truck driver was using his cellphone during a 2010 truck crash that killed 11 people in Kentucky, federal officials said Tuesday.

Kenneth Laymon, 45, of Jasper had just made an outgoing call that lasted one second before the March 26, 2010, crash on Interstate 65 near Munfordville, Ky., board investigators said at a National Transportation Safety Board hearing in Washington.

Laymon’s truck crossed the median and struck a van carrying a Mennonite family and friends to a wedding in Iowa.

Laymon and 10 people in the van died in the fiery crash. Two young children in safety seats were the only survivors.

The NTSB was told that Layton had been talking and texting on his phone in the hours leading up to the early morning accident.

Investigator Dennis Collins said staff concluded that the call distracted the truck driver.

“Staff believes the driver was fatigued at the time of the accident, which may have contributed to his distraction,” Mr. Collins said.

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