The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has declared Renato Velasquez an “imminent hazard to public safety” and prohibited him from driving commercial vehicles.
Velasquez crashed his truck into an Illinois State Police vehicle and an Illinois Tollway vehicle Jan. 27, killing a tollway worker and injuring a state trooper, on Interstate 88 near Naperville, Ill., FMCSA said in a Feb. 11 statement. The agency said Velasquez had rested only 3½ to 5½ hours during a 26-hour shift before the crash, far less rest than is required under federal rules.
“Commercial drivers that knowingly jeopardize innocent lives by violating safety standards and attempt to cover up their illegal behavior should have no doubt that we will vigorously enforce all federal safety regulations to the fullest extent possible by law,” FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro said in the statement.
Velasquez has been charged with four felonies related to the crash, including driving while fatigued and beyond allowable hours.
Steven Goldman, Velasquez’s attorney, said Feb. 12 that he had not had an opportunity to review FMCSA’s order and accusations. But he called his client’s fatigue charge unique, and said “the state would have a tough time proving that.”
The National Transportation Safety Board also is investigating the crash.
