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Driver in fatal special needs van crash says truck sped up by itself

The driver of a semi-trailer that slammed into a shuttle bus earlier this month, killing four people, told state troopers the truck sped up on its own just before the crash on Interstate 70.

In a report released by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Zygmunt W. Wieckowski, 54, of Chicago, told troopers that he took his foot off the accelerator before the fatal crash on Jan. 7 but he could still hear the engine speeding up.

Wieckowski told troopers he was the only one who drove the truck and it had never had mechanical problems previously.

But in an interview contained in the report, Wieckowski told troopers the truck began to move side-to-side on the snow and ice-covered roads.