Truck driver to pay maximum penalty for driving rig placed out of service

A truck driver has been ordered to pay the maximum allowable fines after driving his semi truck immediately after police placed it out of service. 

The truck driver was charged on October 23rd for the incident that occurred in July.

According to Skook News, 53-year-old truck driver, Ramon Carabajo of Corona, New York submitted to a truck inspection at a weigh station along Interstate 81 near Port Carbon, Pennsylvania.

Upon inspection of the rig, PA State Police discovered multiple mechanical violations, including a defective rear axle, a malfunctioning and leaking brake hose, and 2 out of 10 brakes were defective and not operable. 

The truck was then placed out of service, and Carabajo was instructed not to operate the rig until all the violations had been fixed. The officers then left the scene. 

When troopers returned a short time later, they discovered that the semi truck was gone and determined that the multiple violations could not have been repaired in that small amount of time. The troopers then traveled to the BRADS Landfill in Blythe Township, where the rig had been heading, and were able to locate both the semi truck and Carabajo. 

Upon second inspection, the officers discovered all of the same violations as they had just a few hours earlier. 

Carabajo has since been charged with summary violations for Unlawful Activities and Requirement For Commercial Drivers due to the defendant operating the truck and tractor while it was placed out of service by the State Police. 

He was found guilty for “an intentional violation of the law that endangered other motorists and citizens,” and has been ordered to pay $3,195 in fines – the maximum amount allowed under the law.