The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued an out of service order to an Iowa-based trucking company that is linked to a human smuggling incident that left 10 people dead.
Iowa Trucking Company Out Of Service for Unsatisfactory Safety Rating
Federal safety regulators have shut down Pyle Transportationhttps://t.co/Ji0QyG2lDX
— Siouxland News (@SiouxlandNews) October 12, 2017
The FMCSA ordered Schaller, Iowa, based Pyle Transportation out of service on October 9th on the basis of an unsatisfactory safety rating.
The company’s vehicle out of service rate for the past two years was slightly higher than the national average at 21.1%. Their driver out of service percentage — 10.9% — is nearly double the national average of 5.51%, according to FMCSA data.
In July, eight people were found dead in a sweltering hot trailer with Pyle Transportation branding in a San Antonio Walmart parking lot. Two others died later in the hospital.
The driver was driving for Pyle Transportation, an Iowa-based company https://t.co/EdwT0iLsAf
— CBS 2 Iowa (@cbs2iowa) August 17, 2017
Pyle Transportation has not been charged as a result of the human smuggling incident, but the media interest in the case has brought to light reports of a company driver failing to have proper licensing, hours of service violations, overweight violations, tire and brake violations, and attempts to conceal various violations.
Company owner Brian Pyle has denied any knowledge of human smuggling activities. He told NBC Channel 13 that he had sold the trailer to a buyer in Mexico in May of 2017 and that he hired 60 year old truck driver James Bradley Junior as a contractor in order to deliver the trailer to Brownsville, Texas. Pyle has stated that he regrets failing to remove the company logo from the trailer before selling it.
Bradley is in federal custody and faces serious charges including conspiracy to transport and harbor undocumented aliens for financial gain resulting in death. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
According to federal data, Pyle Transportation employs 18 truck drivers. The company has been in business since 1950.