Is that load worth going to prison?

I don't know if many of you heard of the wreck involving a driver for Brooks Transport and a van full of Taylor University students and staff on Interstate 69 here in Indiana. It seems the Brooks driver was pushing way over hours trying to get to the house in Michigan before he stopped. He fell asleep behind the wheel and now they are going after his head. It seemed he was on the phone talking to his sister hoping she would help keep him awake. There were several trucks behind him trying to get him awake because he was drifting all over the road. He crossed the median, hitting the 10 passenger van on the right front corner and taking out the whole side, front to back He never woke up until the truck stopped. There were five students killed and the wreck became notorious from the Coroner misidentifying one of the girl students in the wreck. Her parents believed it was their daughter in the hospital for two weeks until the bandages were removed and they found it was one of her friends and that their own daughter had been buried the week before by the other set of parents. It was a real cluster. Meanwhile the driver for Brooks has been in jail since last fall waiting to go on trail. His cell phone records proved he did not take his mandatory breaks and his dispatcher of course denied any responsability. The driver is being prosecuted on five counts of voluntary manslaughter along with all the log book violations. He is being held held on $500,000 cash bond and they have said he will be the example for any other drivers caught for the same violations. All of northern Indiana is up in arms and demanding tougher sentencing for everyone. The driver is facing 50 years in prison for not knowing when to quit for the day. Brooks of course denies any fault and is letting him swing for his crimes. There are just too many ways to find out your true travel records to try and deny anymore. Cover your butt and keep the book up to date for your own sake. If you make a mistake, your going to be all alone when it's time to pay the price.

 

It makes me feel good that some of you paid attention. This Brooks driver has been in jail since this wreck happened. I hope you newer drivers learn from this. You are responsible for what happens in your truck. No company or dispatcher will come to your rescue if you get caught breaking the law. It your ship, your the Captain, you have the final say whether you should be driving or not. The driver has lost his freedom, he will spend years in prison over this. Brooks Trucking has denied any responsibility for his actions and he totally screwed the rest of his life. Dispatch is not your friend. Their first job is to make a profit. Your dispatcher goes home at night after asking you to place yourself in harms way. Learn to "Just Say No".