The Decline Of Crete Carrier

the real threat with Crete Carrier financially is the legal shoe waiting to drop in regard to the Alvin Wilkinson case (the Crete driver who ran into a car stopped behind a school bus killing 7 children). Crete is self insured, and a jury award could potentially wipe them out.

 

Let's set the record straight. The driver's last name is spelled Wilkerson. And based on my research no lawsuits have been filed against Crete concerning the Florida accident. This obviously could change, but after five years it may be unlikely.

 

You will get miles I'd u are at bottom of pay scale!!!

 

you didn't set the record straight, you corrected my spelling.
So let's set the recrod straight for real :
the crash was 5 years ago and one lawsuit was filed a month later.
His guilt was determined in 2008 and he was given a whooping
sentence of 7 years.

vehicular manslaughter, taking the lives and livlihoods of 7 children while under the direct supervision of Crete Carrier.

You may think it's "unlikely" there is a lawsuit in the works but
your research needs to be a bit more detailed, not only are you wrong that NO lawsuits were filed, but every one of the victims families DID file a lawsuit as did the family of one of the survivors :

From February 2006 : "The mother of two of seven children killed last month in a fiery accident in Union County has filed a lawsuit against the trucking company and semi driver involved in the crash."

From January 2008 : "Most of the civil lawsuitS filed against the Nebraska-based Crete Trucking Corp. on behalf of the victims of the crash are also unresolved. Of the six civil lawsuits filed against Wilkerson and the trucking company after the crash, five are still outstanding, according to Union County Courthouse staff.

Also from 2008 : "Doris Elixson said the civil lawsuit she filed on behalf of her daughter, Ceceilia Elixson, who was injured in the crash, was settled out of court. The terms of the June 25, 2007, settlement are sealed, according to Union County courthouse staff"

June 2008 : "After his plea, Wilkerson also gave a deposition in lawsuitS filed by the crash victims' families against Crete."


other lawsuitS against Crete :
from an article in 2006 :
Federal court records show Crete has been sued in motor vehicle personal injury cases 84 times since 1996. It's unclear how those cases were resolved. That number doesn't include lawsuits filed in state courts, like the Union County case, or cases settled before being filed.

Among the federal lawsuits are four filed since 2004 in Brunswick, Ga., involving two fatal crashes along Interstate 95 in Southeast Georgia. In both wrecks, a vehicle had slowed for traffic or construction and was rammed from behind by a Crete truck, much like in the Union County case. Crete settled two of the lawsuits; two more are pending


Again, they are self insured, these awards are coming out of the Crete pocket book, anyone who doesn't take that into account when seeing the past few years of safety and financial activity at that company isnt thinking it through. I was there thru that period and I know first hand the company reaction immediately after the crash and in the following years.

 

To begin with, I'm not bashing Crete, as I've not worked for them. What I did experience was the recruiter was prompt (called the next morning after online application) and very personable. He double-checked a couple things with his supervisor and got right back to me. I honestly didn't think I'd hear back. The time out was where I took issue. I live in central IL. I have four major interstates on all four sides of me. They wanted me to commit to three weeks out. I don't see why. As I explained to the recruiter, it doesn't make financial sense for the driver to take 34hr resets in truckstops, when it's just as easy to route one through home. I figure I'll just keep looking for the right company.

That is not true. Though a company may be "self-insured", they're only so to a certain dollar amount. Basically, they're just paying for claims out of their own pocket. Once the claim exceeds a set amount, or it's a particularly messy situation like mentioned here, they'll turn in a claim to their insurance carrier. In other words, what they're doing is maintaining an extremely high deductible. For the self-insured companies I've worked for, it's been a $1,000,000 threshhold.

 

Nope,sorry.''Life experience'' counts for squat in the trucking industry.You're either a trucker or your not. Life experiences that don't include learning how to back a trailer up,ain't gonna help you put that trailer in a door.

True,just listen to the CB..Nothing but crying truckers..

 

I was with Crete for a few years and when freight slowed during 2008 I missed my raise by 1500 miles. I called the regional manager kerry and he told me it was my problem and there was no slow down in freight and that I should make myself more available to dispatch.. I left them in 2009 and just this year I called them to ask how frieght was and I had to talk to kerry again. He told me I could not be rehired due to poor productivity. He again told me that Crete did not experience any slow freight since it was founded. poor miles were due to lazy drivers.
yea, crete is no more. bye the way, in 2008 I took only 21 days of hometime.

 

As per fourm rules you need to cite the source of your postings.

My statement concerning lawsuits related to the Florida accident was based on the fact that I could not find any civil lawsuits via dockets.justia.com.

 

just a fyi

https://www.myfloridacounty.com/ori/image.do?instrumentNumber=2004170948

 

That isn't the case you want, but it's a searchable site.