Trucking news and briefs for Monday, June 14, 2021:
Mexican trucker barred from operating in U.S. after fatal crash, failed alcohol tests
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has effectively shut down Mexico-licensed truck driver Cecilio Eliut Camacho-Montoya and barred him from operating in the U.S. after a fatal crash on May 19.
FMCSA says Camacho-Montoya, who held an expired Mexical CDL, was driving a commercial truck on Highway 55 in Eagle, Idaho, when, according to witnesses, he failed to stop at a red light at the intersections of Highways 55 and 44. His truck then crashed into another vehicle, fatally injuring its driver.
Following the crash, Camacho-Montoya agreed to submit to, and subsequently failed, three Standardized Field Sobriety Tests administered at the scene by the Idaho State Police. He then agreed at the crash scene to two breathalyzer tests. The first test sample showed a breath alcohol content (BrAC) of 0.222; the second, 0.214. Approximately four hours after the crash, at the Ada County Jail, Camacho-Montoya tested at 0.080, with a fourth showing at 0.078.
Possessing an alcohol concentration of greater than 0.04 while operating a commercial vehicle weighing more than 26,001 pounds and requiring a CDL is a violation of federal safety regulations.
The State of Idaho has charged Camacho-Montoya with felony aggravated driving under the influence and felony vehicle manslaughter.
A subsequent investigation by FMCSA personnel found that Camacho-Montoya, in the days leading up to the crash, on multiple occasions, had falsified his records-of-duty-status and had exceeded the allowable on-duty driving hours permitted by federal regulations.
