[Update] Probation Ends for Record Shredder Tied to Avon Mountain Crash

Almost six years since a truck lost control on Avon Mountain, causing a 20-vehicle crash that killed four and injured several, the truck owner's son, who was convicted for tampering with company truck records, has been released a year early from probation.

Shaun A. Wilcox – whose father, David Wilcox owns American Crushing and Recycling in Bloomfield and the truck that triggered the crash – was released from probation July 13 after probation review in Hartford Superior Court. Wilcox, 30, completed 300 hours of community service as part of his sentence.

The probation term, which was originally a three-year sentence ordered in March, 2009, followed his conviction for destroying company records after the July 29, 2005 crash. The records in question included truck maintanence records for the truck that caused the fatal Avon Mountain crash, Wilcox's attorney, William T. Gerace said of the previous charges against his client.

Early probation termination is not uncommon, Gerace said. Since probation officers often are  supervising many people in probation programs, Gerace said that it is typical for them to recommend probation termination once they've fulfilled their probation requirements. Wilcox's probation officer did recommend that his probation term end early because he fulfilled all of his requirements, primariliy his community service, Gerace confirmed.

"It was a routine matter that it was terminated early. He completed all of his requirements," Gerace said. "It was not a violent crime. This is not out of the ordinary."

Connecticut courts can terminate a probation term "at any time" if a "good cause" is shown, according to state statutes for termination of probation and conditional discharge. 

"He's a good guy and we're glad he's off probation," Gerace said, noting that he wasn't convicted of anything directly related to the Avon Mountain crash itself.

Wilcox avoided immediate jail time in his 2009 sentencing after being investigated on charges of tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, which are both Class D felonies, according to the state judicial branch's website. 

Wilcox pleaded guilty in 2009, telling the presiding judge, "No words can change what I did," according to WTNH.

He has a five-year suspended jail sentence hanging over his head, however, which means that if he is arrested again in the next three years, he could be exposed to jail time.

His mother Donna J. Wilcox, 46, is still set to serve probation for a third year and also received a five-year suspended sentence in 2009 in connection to the accident investigation. After pleading no contest to her charges, she was found guilty in June 2009 on two counts of attempt to commit first-degree larceny and one count of insurance fraud, according to the state website. WTNH reported that she tried to reinstate the dump truck's liability insurance after the fatal accident. 

David R. Wilcox, 76, is still in prison after being sentenced in 2009 to six years, which will be followed by three years of probation. In March 2009, he pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree manslaughter and four counts of first-degree assault in connection to the four people that died in the crash.

The Hartford Courant reported that Maureen Edlund, 60, of Canton, Paul A. Stotler, 42, of New Hartford, Barbara Bongiovanni, 54, of Torrington, and Abdulraheem Naafi, 41, of Hartford, died in the crash.

Editor's Note: This story was last updated on Monday, July 18, 2011 at 6:26 p.m.