Monday, April 20, 2015

TRUCK DRIVER WHO HAD BEEN WORKING FOR 27 HOURS BEFORE THE JAN. 27, 2014 I-88 CRASH THAT KILLED TOLLWAY WORKER, INJURED STATE TROOPER GETS 3 YEARS




APRIL 20, 2015

A semi truck driver has been sentenced to three years in prison for driving fatigued and causing an I-88 crash last year that killed a tollway worker and severely injured a state trooper.

Renato Velasquez, 48, had been working for 27 hours before the Jan. 27, 2014, crash that killed Vincent Petrella and left Trooper Douglas Balder seriously injured on the Reagan Memorial Tollway near Eola Road in Aurora, prosecutors said.

Petrella and Balder had stopped to help a disabled vehicle in the eastbound lanes of the Reagan. They were in the right-hand lane and shoulder, with their vehicles' emergency lights activated, officials said.

Velasquez, who was also traveling eastbound, collided with the vehicles about 9:45 p.m., police said at the time.

Petrella, a husband and father of two young children, died at the scene, according to tollway officials. The 39-year-old Chicago native had worked at the tollway since 2001.

On Feb. 26, Judge Robert Kleeman found Velasquez guilty of one count of operating a commercial vehicle in a fatigued state, and two counts of failure to comply with hours of service requirements, according to the DuPage County state's attorney's office. He was also convicted of driving too fast for conditions and failing to yield to emergency vehicles.

Kleeman handed down the three-year sentence at a hearing Monday at the Wheaton courthouse.

“Illinois law imposes rules and regulations on the trucking industry for a reason—to keep the roads safe for all motorists,” State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.

“Ignoring these regulations however, can result in tragic consequences, as we saw in this case. Had Mr. Velasquez gotten the proper amount of rest before getting behind the wheel of his truck, Mr. Petrella would be alive today and Trooper Balder would not be facing a life of pain and suffering,” Berlin said.

Velasquez, of Hanover Park, must serve 50 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole, officials said.

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Tollway Worker Killed, Trooper Injured In Crash

Vincent Petrella was killed and Trooper Douglas Balder injured in fiery Monday night crash on Interstate 88

January 27, 2014

An Illinois State Police trooper testified Tuesday that he was burning alive after his squad car was struck and set aflame by a semi driver accused of violating road safety laws.

Trooper Douglas Balder was among the witnesses in the trial of Renato Velasquez, who authorities say was fatigued and in violation of driving laws in the Jan. 27, 2014, crash near Aurora that badly injured Balder and killed tollway worker Vince Petrella.

Balder was stopped along Interstate 88 near Aurora on that frigid winter night to help a disabled semi when Velasquez struck Balder's squad car, rupturing his gas tank and setting the vehicle on fire.

"At some point, I woke up in my squad car, burning alive," Balder testified in the DuPage County courtroom of Judge Robert Kleeman, who is presiding over the bench trial.

Balder said he tried to exit from his driver's side, but neither the door nor window would operate. He said he crawled through the passenger side window.

"I have to imagine adrenaline kicked in, and I just forced myself out of the car," Balder said.

The force of the collision sent a 14,000-pound steel roll hurtling from the back of Velasquez's flatbed trailer. It struck a tollway aid truck that was also parked at the scene, killing Petrella, who was behind the wheel. Balder suffered serious burns and other injuries and spent six weeks in a medically induced coma.

In his opening statement, Assistant State's Attorney Joe Ruggiero said Velasquez had fallen asleep because he had worked and driven far in excess of laws that mandate truckers take breaks and drive no more than 11 hours in a day.

"He fell asleep because he drove too long," Ruggiero told the judge, emphasizing each word.

Velasquez, 47, of Hanover Park, had started working the previous day and had driven to Nebraska, where he dropped off a load. He was hauling the steel rolls, which he had picked up in Iowa, at the time of the accident, which was about 9:45 p.m.

Authorities say Velasquez had rested only about 31/2 hours and had been working and driving about 37 hours, and that he falsified the logbook truckers are required to maintain. Ruggiero said Velasquez's actions were motivated by greed — he could earn more by driving more hours than allowed by the safety laws.

"This case is all about cheating to make more money," the prosecutor said.
A tollway worker who was at the site just before the accident said Balder and Petrella had activated their emergency lights and set out a line of flares to alert oncoming traffic.

"It was lit; we like to say it's like lighting up a runway," now-retired Tollway Authority employee Ralph Dickinson testified.

Velasquez attorney Steven Goldman sparred with the Illinois State Police accident reconstruction investigator, who testified that Velasquez was driving almost 60 mph and did not brake before hitting the squad car.

A federal safety report indicates the truck braked at some point in the incident, and Goldman contended that without a precise location for the collision, an exact braking point could not be determined.

The trial may conclude Wednesday.


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Truck Company Involved In Fatal I-88 Crash Has Spotty Record

Government says nearly 93 percent of all companies have better records than DND International 

Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014

The truck involved in Monday night's fiery crash on Interstate 88 near Eola Road was operated by DND International in Naperville.

Records of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration indicate DND operates over 40 trucks, employing 42 drivers who logged 4 million miles in 2012. Government records indicate that the company has an Unsafe Driving rating of 92.4 percent, meaning nearly 93 percent of all trucking companies have better records than DND.

Tollway Worker Killer, Trooper Injured In I-88 Crash

Vincent Petrella was an equipment operator with the Illinois Tollway since 2005 and began his career as a toll collector, officials said. (Published Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014)

The numbers raise enough of a concern, that the FMCSA website lists the company as exceeding the "Intervention Threshold" for both Unsafe Driving, and Hours of Service for its drivers.

In that regard, the government says nearly 91 percent of all companies have better records on the road, with DND drivers accumulating over 100 violations in the last two years, ranging from driving too long to 11 allegations of drivers falsifying hours.

Tollway worker Vincent Petrella died and state trooper Douglas J. Balder was critically injured in fiery crash in Aurora. Renato V. Velasquez is charged with Class 4 felonies in connection with the crash. (Published Tuesday, Jan 28, 2014)
FMCSA records indicate that DND drivers were involved in six accidents in the last two years, one of them a fatal crash in 2012 in Sangamon County. A state police report says the DND truck in that crash was struck by another vehicle, whose driver was killed in the crash.

A woman identifying herself as Natasha Dimitrieszski, the company's owner, told NBC 5 Tuesday morning that she still did not know which of her drivers was involved in the crash. Officials later charged driver Renato Velasquez with Class 4 felonies.