The trucker who caused an accident on I-88 in the Chicago area has had his operating license revoked and has been charged with multiple felonies after allegedly driving for 36 hours without a break. The accident occurred when the driver hit a police car and a highway maintenance vehicle, seriously injuring the police officer and killing the highway employee.
Different sources are reporting different specifics, but it is certain that the driver went from Chicago to Nebraska, then on to Iowa where he picked up another load to bring back to Chicago. He may have been driving for as many as 36 hours on only 3.5 hours of sleep.
The driver’s attorney claims that his client was not asleep at the wheel when he ran in to the stopped police cruiser and maintenance vehicle, but rather that another truck in front of him prevented him from seeing the vehicles that had stopped on the shoulder to assist another vehicle. By the time the truck in front of him merged out of the way, the driver was unable to do the same.
Both the police cruiser and the highway maintenance vehicle had flashing lights on at the time of the accident.
The police officer suffered 3rd degree burns over 15% of his body, broken ribs, and a broken shoulder, but was able to climb out of his burning vehicle. The highway worker, 39 year old Vincent Petrella, died at the scene.
Blood tests for both drugs and alcohol came back negative, but according to the County State’s Attorney that is prosecuting the driver, “Driving tired is as bad a driving impaired or driving drunk.”
According to NBC Chicago, DND International, the company that the driver was employed by, has had over 100 hours related violations in the past two years.
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Source: suntimes, nbcchicago, chicago tribune, overdrive
missjhawk says
that driver was not paying attention u can see the lights at least for a mile unless it was in a blind curve or hill then what the driver say can be true. It’s bad he hurt and killed somebody but why they insist that if a driver have an accident he is automatically driving illegal or high .
Wayne says
Because of how drivers use to run back n the day all buzzed up,plus theres alit if folks that just hate trucks so they wanna make a big example,now that driver was clearly n the wrong though
mike says
Its not to determine whether you are high its to determine whether or not drugs are involved. If you took something yesterday you had better wait at least a week before you have an accident .
lilqueen1099 says
if there is a fatality in an accident involving any type of vehicle, tox screens are done on the living and deceased. Standard protocol. Period.
Plum Krazee says
No, that isn’t true at all. I can’t actually speak for any state except for Arkansas, but if you are in a “passenger” vehicle, it is RARE that any tax studies are conducted. However, IF you have a CDL, then of course, they check you for everything, up to and including STD’s!
Steve says
According to the story..It’s quite obvious he was driving illegal, and he was also following the other truck way to close. If he had had the proper following distance, then when the truck in front of him swerved to miss the highway patrol, he would have had ample amount of time to do the same. And yes. I am a truck driver and have been for 19 yrs so I know what I’m talking about.
Jeff says
I totally see it your way. The driver was negligent any which way esp seeing that he didnt have the distance away from the truck in front of him. A cb may have helped if there was any communication about the upcoming issue. Hard to know on that part as the industry seems to use less of the cb anymore.
Scott Sr. says
Its idiots like this that get us all in the bad light, ignoring the fact that he and / or the company acted alone many people still believe there is a conspiracy of all drivers and companies to be wreckless. The lawyer volutures are circling the wagons. They’ll take cases like this and say a driver was stuck in Nebraska during a winter storm and would have only been 10 minutes over his hours when he finally would have made it to a safe haven but 5 minutes before he arrives a car full of people driving too fast for conditions loses control in front of him and he kills them the lawyer would immediately try and say the driver shouldn’t have been there although it was completely out of his control.
Never the less I am sadden by the death of a Highway worker and hope the officer is able to recover quickly.
Cher Kilgore says
Have you been in a big rig on any Chicago area roads or highways? I’ve ridden with my husband many times and honestly have no clue how we came back alive every trip.. The people in cars have no respect for the truckers and are zipping in and out..and if it’s at night and the guy in front was trying to merge over..no one was probably letting him..and nd he had no clue what was going on.. because you can’t see..and did you have to pay attention to everything zipping around you…not to mention theirs things flashing every where..
He defiantly shouldn’t have run on only 3.5 hours of sleep.. but my husband used to work for an outfit like that.. they threaten your job..to put false stuff on your record. . Ect.. and when you have kids and a family and you feel stuck I get it..
If that was the case I hope the lawyer for the guy shreds the company to pieces. . Cause I’ve been their and it bites..
I feel bad for the man who passed and the officer.. but they really need to start enforcing the speed limits and the stupid things 4 wheelers do to semis through their instead of sitting still in the median all the time.. it would help. Just a few thought from a truckers wife whose ridden through all the interstates in Chicago both day and night in a semi..
Terrie says
AGREE, could not have said it any better.
ANOTER TRUCKER’s ride along wife. CHICAGO STINKS!
Marcia says
I also agree. As a 4-wheeler and a trucker who grew up in Chicago, it’s scary driving in a car through the city. In a truck it is ridiculous!
Unfortunately, this accident was the trucker’s fault. Prayers for the families of the policeman and the highway worker.
Bill says
H.O.S. violations are serious and dangerous violations and obviously can be deadly.
As a former trucker returning to the industry, I know there are many unscrupulous trucking companies out there. However, according to the FMCSA it is the driver’s responsibility to refuse such illegal demands by these companies. Their CDL’s are the driver’s responsibility.
Is it hard? Yes, but it is not only to protect the lives of other drivers as well as the truck driver’s.
So trying to blame the company is ridiculous! It’s every driver’s responsibility to “police” the industry. Only when all driver’s stand up choosing to follow rules and regulations will the industry change and finally weed out these CRAP companies.
As long as the driver is following the rules and regulations as stated in the FMCSA then they are protected from losing their job.
Blake says
All of the phone numbers anyone I have ever driven for are set to record incoming calls for that reason. I’ve only had to use it a couple of times, and not yet with current carrier.
Robert says
Don’t ever believe following the rules protects your job!!! Following the rules can also get you fired. All it takes is a smart and shifty lawyer and your ass is in the proverbial sling!! Cover your own ass, keep your mouth shut till your lawyer shows up !!!
Cary Davis says
The driver’s attorney claims that his client was not asleep at the wheel when he ran in to the stopped police cruiser and maintenance vehicle, but rather that another truck in front of him prevented him from seeing the vehicles that had stopped on the shoulder to assist another vehicle. By the time the truck in front of him merged out of the way, the driver was unable to do the same.
<—- So the driver was following to close and not scanning the road in front of him properly. More than likely this was due in part to driver fatigue, and definitely poor driving skills! I would say examine the companies dispatch procedures and determine if this is only driver fault or does the company promote this behavior.
Duane says
and driving on the shoulder? following another truck, driving on the shoulder?
does not make much sense to me.
professor76 says
It’ obvious that this “article” is just parroting and did not include some of the basic facts that were published in the original Chicago Tribune article. How is it that somebody could have been driving for this period of time to cover 950 miles? Better yet, the driver left Chicago at 2PM on one day, drove to the Lincoln,NE area, delivered, came back to Council Bluffs, Iowa after that and got in this wreck in Aurora, IL at 9 PM the next day. I’d like to know how this translates into knowing that the driver only had 3.5 hours of sleep?
Rick Fessenden says
The company will likely be sued out of existence. They should be with that many hours related incidents. These are the jerks that make us all look bad.
Fred Douglas says
I do not believe you read the full account of the accident that was provided. He did not keep his log book up to date, no account said he was stuck in a storm. He has a record off dealing drugs. Obviously he does not care about laws.
Whether on not he was asleep at the wheel or not, this driver,was illegal.
David says
I’ve only been drivin for a year an I know this guys store is bs u can see cop car lights from atleast a mile away they light up the sky an everything around them there’s no excuse for what he done even if his company told him to drive illegal he could have said no
Cindy Martin says
What nobody has mentioned and it seems failed to think of is the highway worker, police officer and vehicle they were attending to were on the shoulder of the road. Considering they were on the shoulder the driver MUST have left his lane of travel and drifted onto the shoulder hitting these people. I’m sure we have all have been in a situation where traffic would’nt allow for moving into the other lane to allow space when passing stopped or emergency vehicles but we all (I hope) proceed past with caution and no incident. Had this driver stayed straight in his lane of travel this would not have happened. Clearly this is driver negligence & the lawyer is being a typical lawyer and manufacturing an unreasonable story that anyone with a bit of common sense can see clearly through.
lilqueen1099 says
I don’t drive a truck but there are signs on the highway in every state I have traveled through that state to move to the left of the flashing lights or slow down. This guy was in serious violation. The company was allowing it. I’m sure he wasn’t the on;y driver doing this for this company. I see plenty of safe truckers daily but once in a whole I’ll be doing 75mph and one will be on my rear with a full load in the passing lane. MO doesn’t have any laws about trucks driving in the 2 right lanes. I wish they did. So much safer for all of us. That goes for the trucks too. I’ve seen some stuff lately that scares the heck out of me. I did bookmark the yahoo news post about the Truckers Guide to Safety in Winter weather. They couldn’t be more correct. If I have to drive i get behind one of them and keep my distance. I always have a good path to drive in.
mark says
And they talk about Mexican truckers .hipócrita
Rob says
If the driver’s hours are correct then he deserves whatever he gets. And the company racked up 100 HOS violations in 2 years, how many trucks do they run? Not sure if they should be able to continue in business. Gives everybody a bad name.
Steven says
When you’re tired, you don’t make good decisions. This driver was definitely totally exhausted and simply made a wrong decision. I think losing his license is the least he should get. He should be jailed.
Paul says
This is why the government imposed the 11 hour driving rule on commercial drivers. And it is reasons like this that the 34 hr reset will never be removed. He was in violation of DOT on so many rules. The rules and laws are there for a reason, to save lives.
J Ossowski says
Then let’s impose hours of service on everyone and limit everyone’s time behind the wheel. You left out another important excuse for the laws: CASH COW.
Dave Seward says
But amateur 4-wheelers can drive as many hours as they want!!!
Old Guy says
How come the company who owns the truck never get any heat ? C’mon now, We all know how scab companies over work their drivers forcing them to drive way past legal. Then when the driver is so tired he can’t see straight and has a crash, they act like they don’t know why he was driving so many hours. As if they know nothing . Give me a break. Ok, the driver is still responsible, but the these scab, fly by night, trucking companies shouldn’t get off scott free. They have blood on their hands too.
mr No One says
As a person that has drove 40+ ours straight a few times. I wonder why I never was in the news for driving that long without any accidents, incidents, or tickets? I’m pretty sure there are way more drivers who drove a long way without any issues, compared to ones that did. He should lose his licence, pay a fine, but not go to jail.
Ray says
Over 100 hours of service violations and they were still in business? DOT dropped the ball.
Jay says
He is at fault for sure, As far as four wheelers Dont worry about my driving its thiers and some drivers themselves. Dvr camers on all the windows of my truck to cheap $30 piece in ebay.
MommaZ says
I don’t think every trucker is high or reckless but I do believe there are some bad apples in the bunch. I wouldn’t complain about cops not doing their jobs. In this instance they, the trooper and maintenance workers, were backing up one of your own brothers who had become disabled when THEY were struck and killed/critically injured. The driver of the disabled semi walked away through their protection. They were lit up like the Fourth of July in a dark area and should have been visible for well over a mile. It’s obviously time to figure out a productive way to prevent this from occurring again and again and again….
Jim says
100 hours of service violations and he still had a CDL lic? or for that matter the trucking company was still operating?
Creedmore says
He will go to prison for reckless homicide, if found guilty in court. State’s Attorney in the county here is making it clear he will seek prison time if a conviction enters. Face it – he killed one person, and critically injured another person because he was in violation of his HOS. If convicted, he deserves prison. He made the choice to run that far over HOS. Life is about choices, choices have consequences.
Jack Deth says
how many times do you park in the truck stop and go into the sleeper and then an owner op pulls in beside you…in 3 to 5 hrs they start their truck and leave….ahh you pay it no mind…cause its not you..you take the 10 hr break then move…now this guy is neck deep in doo doo…nobody is giving him a hand out or a paddle…he made the bed..only thing he can do is try and prove that his company forced him with threat of losing his job if he didn’t run…plus I agree with the other driver…why was he tailgating that close where he couldn’t see construction lights or the cops lights…they are very visable from a distance….a classic dahhhhh moment that will cost him years in jail…then kiss driving goodbye or any job for that matter….live and learn the hard way
Out_house says
You do realize you can split your driving time by 2 hrs and 8 hrs so don’t be too quick to judge.
Pegasus says
This is why we have to say no to dispatch, granted we all need our jobs, but they can’t fire every driver. I pray for this driver and his victims. Just say “No”. I have always said, If you say no you are alive to take another crappy load to another customer or receiver who will complain about something. So Please be careful driver, we only have us drivers to watch out for, DOT says they care but only prove it by listening to some dumb office jockey making the day to day decisions that effect all everyone.
Out_house says
From my experience, companies like to get you to commit to your next load before you are done the one you are on. You calculate it and if it looks like you can legally do it you say “yeah, I can do it”. Then stuff happens, delays far beyond what you could have planned for. Now you have committed for a load you cant legally do and your left dealing with angry dispatchers and customers.
This is one of the common situations that intimidate drivers into running illegal.
Best plan to prevent ending up in this situation is do one load at a time and don’t commit to anything until the previous load is completed. Always remember that you can say no.
Ken says
I have driven in the Chicago area enough now in semis and cars. Yes you can see emergency vehicles well ahead of you if you have clear visibility ahead. Also enough with the paper logs to much temptation to run illegal with paper. They might as well throw away the speed limit signs in Chicago because nobody obeys them anyway!!! I’ve seen cops blow by me when I’m doing 60 in a 55 with the other idiots doing 70. Fatigue is a major factor in this accident, maybe speed and visibility. We do know one thing for sure, a worker was killed and one was injured. Everyone deserves to return home to their families at the end of their work day. Drive safely in what ever kind of vehicle that you drive.