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Lawsuit alleges tractor trailer driver was on his phone when he hit, killed another driver in Troy

Lawsuit
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TROY, Texas (KXXV) — There is a lawsuit against one of the largest trucking companies in the nation, J.B. Hunt, after one of their drivers crashes into a disabled vehicle, killing that vehicle’s driver.

25 News spoke to the lawyer who sent a video that shows the truck driver on his cell phone at the moment of impact.

This is video from May 22 just before 5 a.m. on I-35 northbound in Troy.

The driver, Barry Giebelstein, can be seen looking to the left and touching what attorneys say are his phone when he hit Tracy Rambosek’s Ford Bronco, killing her.

“Had he not been texting, she would be alive today," Matt Greenberg said.

Greenberg says he believes Rambosek’s vehicle ran out of gas, that’s why she was sitting in the right-hand lane.

Rambosek’s family contacted Matt Greenberg and his lawfirm , Zehl and Associates, and filed a lawsuit against the driver and J.B. Hunt trucking company.

“We’re hoping to gain change in the industry," Greenberg said.

“We’re trying to get justice and comfort for the family.”

Greenberg says they inspected the 18-wheeler and found the cell phone mount on the windshield where the driver was touching.

“We’re doing a download of the phone and we’ll be able to see what he was doing on phone instead of paying attention to the road.”

He also says he plans to investigate how many times Giebelstein had previously driven while looking at his phone which is something the dash cam has the capability of tracking.

All of this is going on as the family reels from the loss of a wife, mother and grandmother.

“They’re struggling — they were planning retirement, they had just purchased land and were going to live out their golden years together.”

25 News reached out to the trucking company, but they did not want to comment.