CHEYENNE - A Carbon County circuit judge Friday set bond of $30,000 for an Oregon truck driver charged with aggravated assault by vehicle in the death of an elderly Oregon driver on Interstate 80.

Constantin Mititiuc, 57, of Medford, Ore., had not posted bond as of Friday afternoon and was still being held in the Carbon County Detention Center, a court spokesperson said.

Mititiuc is charged in the death of Edward Peter Canavarro, 81, of Portland, Ore., Wednesday morning on I-80 outside Rawlins.

Canavarro was driving a Nissan Xterra that was pulling a U-Haul trailer in the eastbound lane of I-80 when he was rear-ended by Mititiuc's tractor-trailer at 7:40 am. Canavarro died at 8:27 a.m. at Carbon County Memorial Hospital in Rawlins.

An earlier report from the Wyoming Highway Patrol said sunlight glare might have been a factor in the chain-collision that eventually involved seven vehicles and closed the interstate's eastbound lane for four hours.

An affidavit filed by David Noland, a Highway Patrol trooper who responded to the accident, said Mititiuc prepared a written statement that said he was traveling 74 mph when he saw the Nissan and U-Haul trailer in front of him.

He wrote that the driver of the U-Haul trailer suddenly slammed on the brakes, and so did he, but he could not avoid the collision.

Noland's affidavit, however, said there was no indication of any braking or skid marks from either vehicle in the area of the collision, which is inconsistent with Mititiuc's account.

"I observed, and learned from other drivers who stopped to attend to the accident, that there was a substantial glare from the sun," Noland's report said. "Other vehicles traveling in the same conditions lowered their speed to reflect the condition present at that time."

"Even with the blinding sun, the driver of the tractor trailer did not slow his speed but attempted to pass the red Nissan Xterra attempting to move over into the passing lane and struck the Nissan," the trooper's report added.

The affidavit was filed with the Circuit Court in support of the charging document, signed by Carbon County deputy and prosecuting attorney Dawnessa Snyder.

During the court hearing Friday morning, Magistrate Bill Macpherson imposed a number of restrictions on the trucker's bond, including that he obtain an attorney, sign a waiver agreeing to extradition and that he not violate any laws or drive any commercial vehicle.

A preliminary hearing will be held within 10 days if Mititiuc does not post bond, or within 20 days if he does, the court spokesperson said.

Capital bureau reporter Joan Barron can be reached at (307) 632-1244 or at joan.barron@casperstartribune.net.