WHEATON, Ill. (AP) - DuPage County prosecutors said Wednesday that a truck driver being held on $150,000 bond for a crash that killed an Illinois Tollway worker and injured a state trooper had been on the job for more than 35 hours with less than four hours of sleep.
Renato V. Velasquez of Chicago appeared in DuPage County court on charges of operating a commercial motor vehicle while impaired or fatigued and making a false report of record and duty status.
The crash killed maintenance worker Vincent Petrella, 39, and critically injured Trooper Douglas Balder. The two were assisting a disabled truck.
Velasquez’s truck was hauling steel coils weighing 14,000 pounds each when his truck rammed into the stopped squad car along I-88 near Aurora.
“Our investigation shows about that there was about a 37-hour, or 38-hour period where he was on duty, with 3½ hours of sleep, in violation of the law,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said after Velasquez’s bond hearing. “The law requires 10 hours of sleep after 14 hours of driving, and that didn’t happen.”
Berlin said Velasquez, an employee of DND International Inc. of Naperville, loaded his truck early Sunday, dropped off a load in Nebraska before picking up a load in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and heading back to the Chicago area.
Berlin said federal regulations require truck drivers who spend more than 11 hours behind the wheel during any 14-hour shift to take a 10-hour break. Berlin said Velasquez falsified his driving log to indicate he was complying with the law.
State Police Director Hiram Grau said the wreck wouldn’t have occurred if Velasquez had followed the requirement that motorists slow down and place at least one lane between them and an emergency vehicle stopped on the side of the road with its emergency lights on.
Goldman said Velasquez simply did not see the flashing lights of the state police squad, tollway vehicle and the other semitrailer truck that the emergency crews had stopped to help. He added there was no evidence Velasquez had fallen asleep.
“It was an unfortunate, tragic accident,” Goldman said. “He’s devastated and his family is devastated as well.”
In addition to setting bail, DuPage County Circuit Judge Thomas Else ordered Velasquez to surrender his commercial driver’s license. He set Velasquez’s next court appearance for Feb. 5.
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