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PETA urges pork processer not to employ truck drivers who have record of “driving crimes”

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Following a crash earlier this month that led to the death of several pigs, the animal rights group PETA has called on the CEO of one of the nation’s largest pork processors to screen truck drivers and refuse to employ those with less-than-perfect driving records.

PETA Pressures Pork Processor To Screen Truck Drivers

In a press release published on January 23, PETA announced that they have asked the CEO of Smithville Foods Inc., Kenneth M. Sullivan, “not to employ or contract with any drivers who have a record of repeated driving-related offenses or have been found to be at fault in any crash.

The request comes on the heels of a January 10 crash that happened in Smithfield, Virginia. According to Virginia State Police, 23-year-old truck driver Brian D. Crockett was transporting a load of hogs to the Smithville Foods processing plant when he left the road and overcorrected, causing his truck to overturn.

Crockett was cited for reckless driving.

At least 10 pigs were killed in the crash.

In an accompanying blog post entitled Exposed: Trucker in Latest Deadly Smithfield Crash Has Record of Driving Crimes, PETA says that a quick check of Crockett’s driving record revealed that Crockett had been convicted of “nine driving-related crimes and infractions.”

Here are the “driving crimes” from Crockett’s record that PETA chose to expose:

  • November 2017: Convicted of failing to have a vehicle inspected
  • August 2015: Charged with traveling at 70 mph in a 55-mph zone
  • August 2014: Found guilty of using defective equipment on a motor vehicle
  • February 2014: Charged with traveling at 74 mph in a 60-mph zone
  • June 2013: Convicted of driving without a license

From PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch, “A 20-minute search was all that it took to find this driver’s criminal records, yet Smithfield or its contractor put him behind the wheel and at least 10 pigs died gruesomely as a result. PETA is calling on Smithfield to take simple steps to screen its truckers and keep dangerous drivers away from trailers filled with scores of live animals.”

CDLLife has reached out to Smithville Foods Inc. and this article will be updated when and if they respond.

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