Kansas City, Mo. ? A truck driver avoided a manslaughter trial and received a suspended sentence Monday in the death of a woman struck by a metal plate on Interstate 70.

William C. Copeland, 39, pleaded guilty in Jackson County Circuit Court to one count of failure to sufficiently secure a vehicle load. One count of involuntary manslaughter was dismissed under the plea agreement.

Copeland was given a 15-day suspended sentence, ordered to perform 120 hours of community service and placed on probation for one year.

Patricia Walker, 25, of Odessa, died after the 38-pound metal plate crashed into her car last Aug. 20.

Prosecutors alleged that Copeland was driving the truck from which the plate fell. Accident investigators believe another vehicle ran over the plate, causing it to fly into the air and hit Walker’s windshield.

Copeland’s attorney had said that Copeland’s truck was already loaded when he picked it up, and that he had worked to make sure the load was safe.