Multiple charges recommended for driver in fiery Toole crash in wake of report that found the 80% of the trailer brakes nonfunctional

Reckless endangerment charges recommended for driver in fiery Toole crash that injured 11 people and caused a massive fire at a car dealership. 

The November 3rd crash in Toole, Utah has been blamed on both brake failure and poor driver training, but the recent completion of the police report confirms that, at the very least, the trailer brakes were “not functioning correctly,” reported KSL News.

According to Fox 13, police announced the completion of the report on Thursday, January 11th. The report findings state that “the initial inspection … (found) approximately 80% of the trailer braking system was not functioning correctly” and that “many of the brake systems were likely in a deteriorated state before the accident… The truck itself was completely destroyed. Nothing was deemed able to be inspected as far as determining the cause of the crash.”

When shown photos of the trailer brakes, the owner of the trucking company “did agree that if those conditions had been seen in a pre-trip inspection, the trailer should not have been taken or used.” The owner also “did attribute inexperience on the driver’s part to the accident.”

Based on the report, police recommend reckless endangerment charges for the driver. Charges against the trucking company have also been recommended.

The 26-year-old truck driver was described as “very distraught,” and “crying periodically” but not hurt in the moments following the wreck. 

“I’m not gonna lie, these brakes have been working fine all day and … I was coming down … and they went right to the floor and there was no air leaks or anything,” he said to officers following the incident. “I’m so sorry, I was on the horn and trying to get it to stop.”

“(He stated) he started going down the hill into Tooele and started gearing down and realized he had no trailer brakes,” the report reads. “He believed he lost brakes and couldn’t get the truck to stop. (He) stated he believed the truck was too heavy and there was a malfunction in the trailer.”

The driver told investigators that  “he did everything, stating he pulled all the emergency buttons.”