Personal Injury, Transportation - Thursday, April 4, 2013 10:30 - 0 Comments

Company In Kentucky Crash Had 17 Tickets In Two Years

A Michigan trucking company, involved in a crash that left six people dead on an interstate highway in central Kentucky last month, had a satisfactory rating from the federal agency that oversees long-haul carriers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration based its ranking of Highway Star Inc. on a 24-month span in which the company fell below the national average of vehicle problems. Nevertheless, the agency advised states to closely inspect the company’s vehicles because it has accumulated 17 traffic violations in the two-year period.

A tractor-trailer driven by 47-year-old Ibrahim Fetic hit an SUV carrying a family back to Wisconsin from a vacation in Florida on March 3rd. Killed were 62-year-old driver James Gollnow and his wife, 62-year-old Barbara Gollnow; their 92-year-old friend, Marion Chapnoise; 18-year-old Sareena Gollnow; and the couple’s foster children, ten-year-old Gabriel Zumig and eight-year-old Soledad Smith. This was a tragic event affecting several families. It appears that a company with drivers having 17 tickets would have been red-flagged by some regulatory agency. In addition, the company would have had an obligation to take steps to get unsafe drivers off the road. But this company had a satisfactory rating.

Source: Claims Journal