James P. Carey Press

Husband of Bee Crash Victim Speaks Out

FOX 9

The husband of one of the victims of that deadly crash involving a bee truck on Interstate 35 last month is speaking out. He's asking for anyone with information about what might have led up to the crash to come forward and talk to investigators.

Todd Brinkhaus last spoke to his wife, Pam, at 11:30 a.m. of May 24. He remembers the time because something told him to look at his watch.

Pam was on her way to work but stuck in traffic on Interstate 35. She called her husband to let him know how much she appreciated that the air conditioner was now working. Then, he heard something that sounded like static on the phone. He didn't know what it was at the time but now believes it was likely the moment when Pam was crushed to death in a chain reaction crash.

When he got home from work, there was a message that she hadn't shown up at her office. He thought maybe her car had broken down. Interstate 35 was closed because of a horrific accident involving two cars and two big trucks, one of them carrying millions of bees.

As he drove by the scene, Brinkhaus had a terrible feeling that his wife was in the middle of that mayhem. When he went back home, two state troopers were waiting for him.

Brinkhaus says he's grateful for all the support his family's received over the past two weeks. Now, he desperately wants some answers.

The key question was why didn't the driver of the Reinhart Foods truck stop, instead of rear-ending those other vehicles stuck in traffic.

As FOX 9 first reported, the state patrol immediately questioned the physical condition of driver Jason Styrbicky.

A trooper determined Styrbicky was so "ill or fatigued," that he ordered him off the road on the spot. He also was not wearing glasses as required by his commercial driver medical card.

Styrbicky and Reinhart Foods have declined to answer questions from the FOX 9 investigators.

As part of the crash investigation, the state patrol is checking schedules and logbooks to see if Styrbicky’s fatigue was related to the demands of his job. The state patrol says it could be several more weeks before a cause of the crash is determined and whether or not any charges will be filed.