FMCSA to Appeal Ruling Related to Fatal Crash in Illinois

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will appeal an April 16 decision by an Illinois administrative law judge that allowed a trucking company involved in a January crash that killed a tollway worker and seriously injured a state trooper to resume operations, an FMCSA spokesman said.

The company, DND International Inc. of Naperville, Ill., on April 2 was ordered by FMCSA to shut down due to widespread violations of federal regulations, including allegations of falsifying driver hours-of-service records.

After a four-day hearing, the judge declared that there was no evidence that the company’s actions had contributed to the crash, and that the government had failed to establish that it was an “imminent hazard” to public safety, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“FMCSA investigators uncovered a dangerous pattern of behavior that the company and their drivers made every effort to conceal,” spokesman Duane DeBruyne said April 17. “Keeping this company off the road is in the best interest of public safety, and we will appeal this initial decision.”