Truck Driver Who Was Allegedly Watching Netflix Before Fatal Crash That Killed Married Couple Pleads Guilty

Billie Joe Grimes initially denied the charges, but changed his plea more than three years after the devastating collision that claimed the lives of Matthew and Cimberly Hansen.

A deadly crash on an interstate in Minnesota has reached a major turning point after a semi-truck driver admitted criminal responsibility for the deaths of a married couple. Billie Joe Grimes, 57, pleaded guilty on October 26, 2026, to two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and one count of criminal vehicular operation. The charges stem from an August 2023 collision on Interstate 35, just south of Faribault, that killed Matthew Henry Hansen, 57, and his wife, Cimberly Ellen Hansen, 56, both from Urbandale, Iowa.

According to investigators, the couple was traveling in a Toyota Camry when Grimes approached a construction zone in a fully loaded semi-truck. Traffic ahead had already slowed or stopped, but authorities said Grimes continued toward the vehicles at approximately 66 to 67 mph. Investigators reviewed roadside camera footage, dashcam recordings and other evidence, concluding that the truck driver had passed multiple warning signs alerting motorists to construction and merging traffic. A crash reconstruction also indicated that traffic in both lanes had slowed or stopped roughly 10 seconds before the impact.

Perhaps the most disturbing finding involved what Grimes was allegedly doing behind the wheel. Investigators said footage from the truck’s camera showed him streaming a Netflix program called Rust Valley Restorers on his phone as he approached the traffic backup. Authorities alleged that he had been watching the show for at least 20 minutes before the collision. When questioned, Grimes reportedly told police that his phone had been downloading an episode for him to watch later and insisted he had only a few seconds to react. He said the heavy load prevented him from stopping in time. However, investigators found that the two programs downloaded to his phone did not include the series he claimed to have been downloading.

The impact was devastating. The couple’s Toyota was crushed and thrown into a ditch, while the semi-truck and another pickup truck were forced off the roadway. Witnesses rushed to help those involved. Cimberly was reportedly already dead when they reached the vehicle, while Matthew initially appeared to have a pulse but died shortly afterward. The pickup truck driver sustained injuries but survived. The loss left the Hansen family facing an unimaginable tragedy, with two people who had built their lives together suddenly gone.

Grimes was charged in April 2024 with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and one count of criminal vehicular operation. He initially pleaded not guilty in November 2025, but later reversed that position and admitted guilt in court. His guilty plea marks a significant development in a case that had been pending for more than three years. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16, 2027. The court will determine the punishment he faces, and no sentence had been announced at the time of the latest report.

For the Hansen family, the guilty plea cannot bring Matthew and Cimberly back or undo the consequences of that morning on Interstate 35. But it does mean the driver has now accepted criminal responsibility for the collision that took their lives. The case also serves as a sobering reminder of how a moment of distraction behind the wheel of a heavy commercial vehicle can have irreversible consequences for innocent people sharing the road.

Source: PEOPLE – Semi-Truck Driver Involved in Fatal Crash Changes Plea to Guilty