MEC&F Expert Engineers : Driver involved in a 9-vehicle crash killing 6 deemed 'imminent hazard to public safety', ordered to stop operating commercial vehicles

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Driver involved in a 9-vehicle crash killing 6 deemed 'imminent hazard to public safety', ordered to stop operating commercial vehicles


Posted: July 21, 2015
 
 
 
CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) - 
 A federal agency has deemed a truck driver an “imminent hazard to public safety” after he failed to stop before crashing into eight vehicles, killing six people on Interstate 75 last month.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ordered Kentucky-licensed truck driver Benjamin Scott Brewer not to operate any commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce following his involvement in a nine-vehicle, six fatality crash that occurred June 25, along Interstate 75 near the Ooltewah exit.

 Brewer, who had a commercial driver’s license, was served the federal order on Sunday.

 Federal investigators say Brewer falsified his records of-duty status in the days leading up to the crash.

 Brewer’s application for employment dated June 16 required him to list all accidents and traffic convictions occurring in the previous three years. Instead, he omitted a June 2013 crash and a January 2015 citation for speeding 16 to 20 miles-per-hour above the limit, according to a released statement from the safety administration.

In May 2015, Brewer tested positive for controlled substances following a court-order controlled substances test.

The safety administration’s order comes a couple days after crash survivor Ryan Humphries filed a $10 million lawsuit against Brewer and his employer.