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.
//---------------------------//
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.