Truck driver ticketed in crash that killed Batavia student

CARBONDALE -- A truck driver whose rig slammed into the back of a stopped car driven by a college student, killing that young man, has been ticketed for failing to reduce speed.

Fifty-one-year-old Kevin Morrison of Beecher City was also cited for not keeping a log book.

Ryan Rendleman of Batavia was a senior photojournalism student at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Illinois State Police say the 22-year-old was stopped Tuesday behind another truck at a Washington County construction zone.

That's when authorities say his car was hit from behind by Morrison's rig, crushing Rendleman's car and killing the student.

According to state police, Morrison says he looked down at his radio and didn't notice the vehicles in front of him had stopped.