Semi driver is charged with manslaughter after a mom and her 2 kids die in a Kansas City crash. Court records say his tablet had YouTube open
Eldar Skander, 39, faces three counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter after a crash on U.S. Highway 71 in Kansas City claimed the lives of a mother and her two sons, per KMBC. Investigators found a tablet on the semitruck’s floor with the YouTube app open. Court documents state the tablet’s Velcro matched a dashboard mount in the driver’s view.
The crash involved a Honda Odyssey, a Honda CR-V, a Ford Explorer, and a FedEx truck. Olga Sorbalo, 35, died at a hospital, while her sons Luis, eight, and Samir, four, were pronounced dead at the scene. A two-year-old child also in the Odyssey sustained serious injuries, and the CR-V driver was listed in critical condition.
Officers estimated that had Skander been traveling at the speed limit, he would have had 20 to 22 seconds to notice the stopped vehicles ahead. However, the affidavit noted no evidence that Skander applied his brakes before impact. Police have sought warrants for the tablet and dash camera to learn whether the driver was watching something on a screen.
Skander is sitting in jail with an ICE hold on top of his bond
Police are still reviewing data from the truck and camera footage to get a clearer picture of the moments before impact. Skander is held in the Jackson County Detention Center on a $150,000 bond and an ICE detainer. He declined to speak with investigators, and ICE’s X account has since claimed he is in the country illegally from Ukraine.
The victims were visiting family in Kansas City and were reportedly preparing to fly home to Washington state when the crash occurred. Olga Sorbalo was one of 14 children of a pastor in Vancouver, Washington. “She always preferred to be on the positive side of things, and that’s how she’ll be remembered,” said her brother, Eli Cosovan.
Sorbalo’s husband was driving the minivan and suffered life-threatening injuries, police said. Cosovan said the family is leaning on its faith, as they believe Olga, Luis, and Samir are now with Jesus. “We don’t know what reason or why, but at least we have that comfort and hope,” said Cosovan.
A GoFundMe page has reached about $150,000 as relatives work to cover the cost of bringing the victims home for their funerals. “This heartbreaking loss has left their entire family, relatives, friends, and church community in deep sorrow,” the page reads.
Watching videos while driving is already illegal in Missouri
Missouri’s Siddens Bening Hands Free Law, in force since 2023, bars drivers from holding a phone or watching videos on an electronic device while the vehicle is moving, per Spectrum News. Officers began writing tickets under it in 2025. Federal rules have barred commercial truck drivers from texting or holding a phone behind the wheel for more than a decade.
Missouri defines first-degree involuntary manslaughter as recklessly causing a death, a higher threshold than the criminal negligence required for the second-degree charge. Prosecutors filed the more serious count for all three deaths. However, the charges remain allegations, and Skander has not been convicted.
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