The FMCSA has ordered 37-year-old North Carolina truck driver Johnny Allen Spell to not operate any CMV.
On April 23, 2013, Spell, a driver for Ricky Lucas Trucking of Roseboro, North Carolina, was driving along U.S. Highway 421. He approached a school bus that had stopped to let students exit the bus. The bus had its flashing lights on, indicating that students were loading and unloading.
Spell ignored the warning and passed the bus. He struck 7-year-old Alyiah McKenzie Morgan as she was crossing the road.
Spell fled the scene.
“Morgan, a first-grader at Union Elementary School, died while on her way to Sampson Regional Medical Center in Clinton, troopers said,” WRAL reported.
North Carolina authorities tracked Spell down hours later. He was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, felony hit and run, improper passing of a stopped school bus with warning devices activated, reckless driving, and driving while using or in the possession of drugs.
“FMCSA’s imminent hazard out-of-service order for Spell is based upon his disregard of federal safety regulations and interstate operations,” the out-of-service order states.
The investigation is ongoing at this time.
According to WRAL, the FMCSA is now investigating Ricky Lucas Trucking.