Investigators: Truck driver charged in fatal hit-and-run is 'imminent hazard'

windsmith · Apr 27, 2013

Interesting statement, shows complete ignorance of the regulations by the owner of the truck:

Lucas said he has one truck and drove it himself until he hired Spell about six months ago to replace him.

He did not do a background check, Lucas said, because he has known Spell since Spell was a boy and thought he knew him. Lucas said he had no idea about his criminal record.
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Roseboro, N.C. The truck driver responsible for the hit-and-run death Tuesday of a 7-year-old girl in Harrells has been ordered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration not to operate any commercial vehicle for interstate commerce.
According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Johnny Allen Spell, 37, of 192 Bud Spell Lane in Roseboro, passed a stopped school bus Tuesday, hit Alyiah McKenzie Morgan and kept driving.
Morgan, a first-grader at Union Elementary School, died on her way to a local hospital. Spell, 37, was arrested several hours later and charged with driving while impaired while operating a commercial motor vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and felony hit and run.
The FMCSA said Friday that Spell is an "imminent hazard to public safety."
Safety is our highest priority, United States Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. Unsafe truck drivers who endanger children and other members of the public have no business on our nations roads.
Federal investigators are also looking into Ricky Lucas Trucking, the company that employed Spell. A spokeswoman said Thursday that officials are investigating the company's hiring practices, financial records and compliance.
Any penalties, she said, could range from a fine to shutting down operations.
FMCSA will continue to assist state and local law enforcement officials, who are leading the investigation, in every way possible, FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro said in a statement. We demand that commercial drivers operate their vehicles with a high regard for public safety.
According to court records, Spell has multiple drug arrests and convictions dating back a decade, along with a DWI conviction in 2008.
The trucking company's owner, Ricky Lucas, said Thursday that he is fully cooperating with investigators, that he is sorry for what happened to Morgan and is praying for her family.

Lucas said he has one truck and drove it himself until he hired Spell about six months ago to replace him.

He did not do a background check, Lucas said, because he has known Spell since Spell was a boy and thought he knew him. Lucas said he had no idea about his criminal record.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Ricky Lucas Trucking has been in business since 2009.
Records show that earlier this month, the administration pulled Spell off the road because he hadn't paid a reinstatement fee for his commercial operator's license. It was later reinstated, and Spell's license was valid at the time of Tuesday's wreck.
The government is supposed to do on-site safety audits every two years on trucking companies, but, according to records, there have been none on the company since 2009.
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http://www.wral.com/investigators-truck-driver-charged-in-hit-and-run-is-imminent-hazard-/12386748/

Giggles the Original · Apr 27, 2013

well sounds like both the driver and the owner are done...unless of course the owner just reopens under another name...what a shame...(the little girl)....that driver had NO business behind the wheel....with his record..

CondoCruiser · Apr 27, 2013

Why do they wait until something happens?

If I was that little girl's father you couldn't keep me from getting to that loser.

If they would just inspect the log trucks here I guarantee you everyone of them would be put OoS.

Giggles the Original · Apr 27, 2013

thats the thing, no matter how many regs are imposed....still gonna be losers that slip thru the cracks and destroy lives

Marksteven · Apr 27, 2013

How does somebody live with themselves after doing this? I hope that Rogue driver saves taxpayer dollars and hangs himself in his cell. This precious child didnt have a chance against a Log truck with a drunk behind the wheel.

drvrtech77 · Apr 28, 2013

The owner is a scumbag...the driver is even worse...I think they should at the very least make both of them hang a picture of that young girl in front of wherever they both are so that they have to look at what they did forever...

Truckinchic · Apr 28, 2013

God bless that poor child..hope the driver rots in hell for this one.

Crossroads · Apr 28, 2013

Condolences to the poor family that have to deal with the loss of their daughter in a senseless tragedy.
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