A Maplesville man was found guilty of criminal negligent homicide on Wednesday after a two-day trial.

Larry Wayne Compton, 34, was charged with the death of Tasha Morrow, 19, of Marion.

Morrow died after a vehicle she was riding struck the 18-wheeler Compton was driving on U.S. Highway 80 on Dec. 8, 2000.

According to Fourth Judicial Circuit District Attorney Ed Greene, Compton could receive up to one year in the Dallas County Jail as well as a fine.

Sentencing for Compton is expected to occur in the next 30 days.

He is currently out on bond.

The incident occurred around sundown.

Compton had pulled his 18-wheeler onto U.S. Highway 80 from a dirt road. Upon reaching the median, Compton decided he couldn’t completely pull onto the road because of oncoming traffic, according to Greene.

That’s when three cars came around a curve and struck the truck.

Morrow’s death occurred when the vehicle she was in struck logs that Compton’s truck was hauling. The truck was blocking a portion of the highway, and three cars hit the logs as they traveled down the road.

Only Morrow was killed in the incident.

Several survivors of the incident took the witness stand during the trial, including Adam Coley Painter, the driver of the vehicle Morrow was in.

Greene added that many witnesses said that pulling the truck loaded with logs onto the highway was dangerous.

Ultimately, Greene said, the trucking industry needed to take more precautions than were taken on the date of the incident. Additional precautions included men with flags and public or private security. &uot;It’s just too heavily a traveled artery,&uot; Greene said of the highway. &uot;These people couldn’t even see the logs.&uot;