Last week, the owner of a Tennessee carrier was sentenced to 12 months of probation for violating an FMCSA out-0f-service order.
On November 21, 2014, a Tennessee U.S. District Court judge sentenced Theresa Vincent, owner of Terri’s Farm to 12 months of probation for violating an FMCSA imminent hazard out of service order.
In 2012, the FMCSA ordered Murfreesboro, Tennessee-based carrier Three Angels Farms out of service and declared the carrier an “imminent hazard to the public’s safety” after the company was involved in two accidents in a six-month time period that resulted in the death of 4 horses.
According to the FMCSA, on January 17, 2012, a Three Angels Farms driver fell asleep behind the wheel, veered to the right side of the road and lost control, causing the trailer to overturn. The trailer was carrying 38 horses, 3 died.
Following the accident, the driver reported that he had been working at the farm all night and had only had a 30 minute break in a 24-hour time period.
The second accident occurred on June 12, 2012, when a Three Angels Farms vehicle, that was operated by a driver with a suspended CDL, wrecked on 1-40 West. The trailer was carrying 36 horses, 1 had to be euthanized.
In 2013, a federal grand jury indicted the company’s owners, Dorian Ayache, 65, and Theresa Vincent, 53, for violating DOT regulations.
According to the indictment, Ayache violated the order and continued operating under the name of Terri’s Farm.
In August 2014, Vincent and Dorian Ayache pleaded guilty to violating the OOS order.