Appeals court reverses conviction in Hudson firefighter’s death

Posted on April 6, 2017

Chris Brown, 39, was a full-time firefighter for Bloomington and volunteered for the Hudson Fire Department. (Photo courtesy Hudson Fire Department)

By Eric Stock

SPRINGFIELD – A state appeals court has tossed out a reckless homicide conviction against a semi truck driver in the death of a Hudson firefighter in 2013.

The 4th District Appellate Court in Springfield issued a ruling on Wednesday that prosecutors lacked the evidence to prove Mansur Shakirov was reckless when his semi tractor trailer ran off an icy Interstate 39, killing firefighter Chris Brown. The 39-year-old Brown was among a group of emergency workers who had responded to an accident.

In its ruling, the appeals court said the defendant “may have been inattentive for a few seconds and then failed to realize the left lane was blocked as he unsuccessfully attempted to brake his huge semi at night on an icy highway in blowing snow. Such brief inattention (if it even occurred) falls far short of the conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk.”

Shakirov has already competed a four-year prison sentence, but the Spokane, Washington man has the felony removed from his record.

Brown was a full-time firefighter for Bloomington and volunteered for the Hudson Fire Department.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

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