Chicago man charged with involuntary manslaughter in deadly 71 Highway crash

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Chicago man has been charged with a trio of felonies after a deadly crash on 71 Highway in Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday.

Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced that 39-year-old Eldar Skander, of Chicago, Illinois, is facing three counts of involuntary manslaughter after a crash that killed three people from Vancouver, Washington.

Court documents filed Tuesday claim Skander was driving a semi-truck at a high speed on northbound 71 Highway Monday around 3:20 p.m. when he struck three vehicles that were stopped.

Authorities said a preliminary investigation revealed no signs of emergency braking by Skander’s Volvo semi-truck.

Court documents also claim an officer who responded to the crash as part of Kansas City Police Department’s crash response team found an electronic tablet off the floorboard of the semi-truck that was open to the YouTube application.

The tablet included the truck’s driving log and a dash camera that authorities believe may have captured the incident.

Seven people were inside a Honda Odyssey minivan, with 35-year-old Olga Sorbalo and two of her sons, 9-year-old Luis Sorbalo and 6-year-old Samir Sorbalo, dying in the crash.

Two other passengers in the minivan suffered critical injuries and were taken to a hospital for treatment. The driver of a Honda CRV that was struck suffered critical injuries and a driver of a black Ford SUV that was struck was also transported to an area hospital and was listed in stable condition.

Skander was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries before being taken into custody. Court documents say he declined an interview with police.