SPRINGFIELD -- The Ottawa County prosecutor in Miami, Okla., said Monday that he might file negligent homicide charges against a truck driver from the Willard/Ash Grove area. A decision on charges is likely weeks away, however.

Donald Creed, 76, was driving a tractor-trailer that plowed into the back of another vehicle, causing a 10-fatality, seven-vehicle crash on eastbound Interstate 44 on Friday afternoon. Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers believe Creed was driving at an unsafe speed for traffic conditions when he came upon a traffic jam, thanks to an accident farther up the road. Investigators are trying to determine why Creed didn't stop -- and perhaps didn't hit the brakes -- before the crash about 1:15 p.m.

The Highway Patrol said Monday that the accident investigation was about 90 percent finished but follow-up interviews, toxicological tests and a detailed accident reconstruction still must be completed. A preliminary report indicated Creed's rig was traveling at "unsafe speed for traffic conditions."

If convicted of negligent homicide, Creed could face up to a one-year jail sentence for each death. No one answered reporters' calls to home telephone numbers listed for Creed on Monday.

On Monday, Associated Wholesale Grocers, which has a distribution center in Springfield and which owns the truck, released a statement that said the company is cooperating with investigators.

“Our hearts and prayers pour out to the families and loved ones of those who died in the accident, to all those who were injured, their families and loved ones, as well as our driver and his family,” the statement says.

The word moves fast across the trucking industry. Ozarks Technical Community College has a school for truck drivers. It's in no way associated with the wreck but the program’s lead instructor feels badly about the circumstances.

“I'm very sorry for families who lost lives, sorry for the driver. Whatever happened, it wasn't intentional, but he's got a lot to live with the rest of his life,” said Stan Kasterke.

The Missouri Department of Revenue says Creed renewed his commercial drivers license (CDL) on April 1, and his driving record is totally clean.

One car involved in the chain-reaction crash had some folks from Waynesville. Synthia Tate, 52, is listed in fair condition at a hospital in Joplin after being pinned in her car for three hours. Her two grandchildren who were with her escaped without injury.