Ohio Truck Driver Sentenced to 22 Years for Fatal Crash; Victims' Images Used in Political Ad
Modou Ngom received the maximum penalty for killing a family of three, whose tragedy was later featured in a Republican campaign advertisement.
An Ohio truck driver has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for causing a nine-vehicle pileup that killed a married couple and their infant son. Modou Ngom, 51, received the maximum possible sentence for the crash that occurred on Interstate 71 north of Columbus on April 11.
The victims were identified as Luke Soposki, 37, his wife Lynnea, 36, and their one-year-old son Logan. Five other individuals sustained serious injuries in the fiery collision.
Prosecutors alleged that Ngom was distracted by a tablet while driving his semitruck, although investigators had previously stated no phone or tablet was found in use at the time of the crash. During the sentencing, a judge condemned Ngom for destroying the Soposki family.
Ngom, who became a U.S. citizen in 2015, has been accused by Ohio investigators of obtaining citizenship using a fraudulent identity after entering the United States in the 1990s. He was convicted in September of three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and five counts of vehicular assault.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, photographs of Luke, Lynnea, and Logan Soposki were used in a Republican campaign advertisement attacking former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. The advertisement, paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and authorized by Republican Senator Jon Husted's campaign, used the family's images alongside footage of the crash, with a narrator stating, "Sherrod Brown opened our borders to dangerous illegals - the consequences were deadly."
Jesse Mallen, Lynnea Soposki's brother, publicly condemned the use of his family's tragedy in the political ad, stating, "Our grief is not raw material for a campaign." He contacted Husted's campaign requesting the removal of the family's photograph, expressing that his family wished to grieve in peace and privacy.
The advertisement aired for at least 16 days and was reportedly taken down after significant backlash. Independent fact-checkers found no direct link between Brown's voting record and the fatal crash.
Lynnea Soposki was a veterinarian, and Luke Soposki was an analytical chemist. Their deaths left relatives grappling with the loss of three generations of a young family. Civil lawsuits have also been filed by survivors and the Soposki family estate against Ngom.
