Modou F. Ngom, a 51-year-old tractor-trailer driver from Columbus, was sentenced on Oct. 29, 2026, to 22½ years in prison by Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Marianne T. Hemmeter. The maximum penalty followed a September 25 jury verdict finding Ngom guilty of three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and five counts of vehicular assault.
The April Crash on Interstate 71
The multi-vehicle collision occurred on April 11, 2026, on Interstate 71 in Delaware County. Ngom was driving a semitruck northbound in a construction zone near the U.S. 36 and state Route 37 interchange, located by the Tanger Outlets Columbus shopping mall, when he failed to stop for traffic backed up ahead.
The chain-reaction crash involved nine vehicles. The vehicle carrying Dr. Lynnea Soposki, 36, her husband Luke Soposki, 37, and their one-year-old son, Logan, caught fire during the collision. All three family members died. Dr. Soposki worked as a veterinarian at the Muirfield Animal Hospital in Dublin, Luke Soposki was a chemist, and the family lived in Ashley.
Five other people sustained serious injuries in the pileup. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, investigators found no skid marks indicating that Ngom applied his brakes before hitting the slowed traffic. An OSHP sergeant testified that the damage to the front of the truck did not support Ngom’s claim that he was traveling about 25 mph, while state reconstruction evidence indicated the vehicle that first struck the Soposkis’ car was moving at approximately 63 mph.
Trial Evidence and Judicial Condemnation
During the four-day trial, jurors viewed video footage from Ohio Department of Transportation cameras showing the moments before, during, and after the impact. A witness testified to seeing Ngom’s truck moving erratically and “fish tailing” for miles prior to the crash. Defense attorneys argued the swaying may have resulted from the truck carrying 20 pallets of bottled water. OSHP investigators confirmed Ngom was not using a cellphone or tablet when the crash happened.
During the Oct. 29 sentencing hearing, Judge Hemmeter condemned Ngom for his lack of remorse and accountability throughout the legal proceedings, citing his “callousness.” The judge stated from the bench, “I can’t fashion a sentence that is commensurate with the pain and suffering that was caused. You wiped out an entire family.” In addition to the 22½-year prison term—the maximum sentence allowed—the court imposed lifetime license suspensions.
Civil Litigation and Political Fallout
Legal fallout from the tragedy extends beyond the criminal courtroom. Relatives of the Soposki family and another injured woman filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Ngom, who owned his trucking company.
The crash also intersected with regional politics when Jon Husted aired a political campaign ad featuring footage of the fiery wreckage to target Sherrod Brown in a U.S. Senate election. The spot included a photograph of the Soposki family provided by a family friend. Relatives stated publicly that they never consented to the photograph’s use and requested that the campaign ad be removed.
