DELAWARE, OH — A Delaware County judge sentenced semi-truck driver Modou Ngom to 22 and a half years in prison after a jury found him guilty in a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 71 that killed three people and injured five others.

The April wreck happened in a construction zone and took the lives of Luke Soposki, Lynnea Soposki and their 1-year-old son, Logan. Prosecutors said Ngom failed to slow down when he reached stopped traffic, triggering the deadly pileup.

The sentencing hearing drew emotional statements from relatives who described lasting grief, disrupted daily life and the shock of losing an entire branch of the family in a single crash.

Family members describe grief that has not eased

Relatives told the court that the crash changed every part of life after the collision. One survivor wrote that what should have been a normal day turned into a traumatic event marked by serious injuries, emotional harm and the loss of three family members.

Greg Saposki, Luke Soposki’s brother, said his brother was someone he could always rely on and someone he expected to grow old with. He also spoke about Lynnea Soposki as a devoted mother and kind wife, and said Logan should have had the chance to grow up.

He told the court that the pain has not faded, and that family events are now defined by absence. Other relatives echoed that point, saying the grief is renewed every day and that the loss still shapes ordinary routines.

Grandparents recount the moment troopers delivered the news

The victims’ grandparents also spoke, describing the night two New York State troopers came to their home to tell them about the crash. They said they learned that their son, daughter-in-law and grandson had been killed on I-71.

They told the judge the daily hurt remains overwhelming and asked for the maximum sentence available without the possibility of early release. Their remarks added another layer to a hearing already filled with emotional testimony from the family.

Jason, another relative, said the crash left him struggling with anxiety, sleep loss and depression. He said the pain affected his work and made him fearful, especially when he thought about never seeing his brother again.

Ngom says the crash was not intentional

Ngom addressed the court and said he never intended to cause the crash. He also referred to being the sole provider for his family in Senegal and asked for mercy while speaking directly to the victims’ loved ones.

He denied using a device while driving and said he thinks about the people hurt and killed in the wreck every day. His comments came after the family statements and before the judge announced the sentence.

The hearing reflected a sharp divide between the pain described by relatives and Ngom’s insistence that the tragedy was not deliberate. The court still had to weigh the legal consequences of the jury’s guilty verdict.

Judge cites lasting harm and questions about Ngom's history

The judge said the crash destroyed an entire family and that the consequences would be lifelong. He also pointed to evidence that Ngom obtained his commercial driver’s license under an alternate identity, which raised concerns about his background.

In announcing the sentence, the judge said the punishment had to reflect both the severity of the deaths and the continuing pain described in court. No sentence, the judge noted, could undo the loss the family suffered.

That reasoning helped shape the final decision, which treated the homicide and assault convictions separately and imposed consecutive prison terms rather than allowing them to run at the same time.

What the sentence includes beyond prison time

Ngom’s sentence includes three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and five counts of aggravated vehicular assault, all to be served consecutively. That adds up to 22 and a half years behind bars.

He also received a lifetime license suspension on the most serious counts, along with additional five-year suspensions on the other convictions. The judge did not impose a fine, citing the ongoing civil case and the length of the prison term.

Ngom was told about his right to appeal, and the public defender was appointed to handle that process. The court’s ruling closed one chapter of the criminal case while leaving the family to continue dealing with the aftermath.