Burnet County crash: Driver charged did not have proper license for trailer

BURNET COUNTY, Texas – Court documents reveal the man who crashed into an SUV, killing five women, should not have been driving the truck and hauling the trailer he was. 

The crash happened in Burnet County late last month.

What we know:

Two weeks ago, five best friends were on the road in Burnet County, heading to the lake, when a truck and trailer veered into oncoming traffic, crashed into a Chevy Malibu, then the SUV the women were in, and killed them.

The driver was 37-year-old Kody Talley. He was arrested earlier this week for five counts of manslaughter.

Records revealed Talley also never should have been behind the wheel of the Ram truck. 

His record shows he has been convicted of drinking and driving twice. His license showed him to have a restriction, requiring an ignition interlock device, or breathalyzer, to be installed, but the Ram didn’t have one.

A Texas DPS Trooper wrote in the affidavit: “Talley’s conscious disregard for the substantial and unjustifiable risk that existed considering the circumstances was a gross deviation from the standard of care than an ordinary person would exercise under the circumstances.

Talley is being held in the Burnet County Jail on $1,000,000 bond.

Dig deeper:

The affidavit obtained by FOX 7 stated Talley committed many violations. One was that he didn’t have the correct driver’s license class for the Ram truck and horse trailer he was hauling at the time.

“Your license class depends on your vehicle’s size, weight, and passenger capacity,” AAA spokesperson Doug Shupe said.

Records reveal the Dodge Ram 4500’s gross vehicle weight rating is 16,500 pounds. The trailer is more than 24,000 pounds.

“If you drive larger vehicles out there, like semi-trucks and trailers that are over 26,000 pounds, a Class A license is what is required for that,” Shupe said.

Talley only had a Class C driver’s license.

“Class C driver’s license is what most Texans have and that covers things like standard cars and SUVs and trucks that are under 26,000 pounds,” Shupe said.

“The reasons for why we have these different classes of driver’s license to ensure that the drivers are properly trained to drive larger, heavier vehicles, because it could be so dangerous without the proper training,” Shupe added.