The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared an Ohio-based truck driver to be an imminent hazard to public safety after a fatal crash led to DUI charges.
The federal order was issued to truck driver Travis Lee Tolliver on March 5, 2021. The FMCSA order forbids Tolliver from operating a commercial vehicle in interstate commerce.
The FMCSA issued the order in response to a crash that occurred on February 24, 2021 in Wise County, Virginia.
Authorities say that Tolliver “traveled in the wrong direction along Route 23 for approximately 2 miles before crashing head-on into another vehicle.” The passenger in the vehicle, 22 year old Perry S. Owens, was killed. The driver, 20 year old Amanda Gail Pearson, was seriously injured.
Tolliver reportedly told police after the crash that he’d been driving in the wrong direction to avoid some deer.
Following the crash, Tolliver refused to provide blood for substance use testing after he was taken to a hospital.
Authorities in Virginia charged Tolliver with manslaughter under aggravated circumstances; driving while intoxicated, driving while under the influence of alcohol or a narcotic drug, and unlawfully, after having been arrested, unreasonably refusing to have a sample of blood taken for chemical tests to determine alcohol or drug content.
After the fatal crash, FMCSA investigators determined that Tolliver had had failed to maintain records-of-duty-status on the day of the crash. In the days leading up to the crash, investigators found several HOS and record-of-duty regulation violations.
Tolliver will not be allowed to return to CMV driving until he successfully completes the statutorily required return-to-duty process overseen by a Substance Abuse Professional.