Trucking company in I-20 drowsy driving crash in June has 60 days to take “substantive corrective actions,” says USDOT

The trucking company involved in a drowsy driving crash on Interstate 20 in Texas earlier this summer has 60 days to take “substantive corrective actions,” according to government officials. 

The accident happened on June 28th east of Dallas, Texas when 27-year-old Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni allegedly fell asleep at the wheel, causing a devastating crash that killed people and injured others. 

Since then, an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board has revealed dubious details surrounding the safety practices and records of the trucking company involved, Hope Trans. LLC. 

Now, CBS reports that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has proposed an unsatisfactory rating for Hope Trans., meaning that the company must take “substantive corrective actions” within the next 60 days. If concerns are not addressed, the company could be taken off the road, said a USDOT spokesperson.

The FMCSA completed a compliance inspection on the company on August 15th and discovered the following violations: 

• Sending a driver out on a job before obtaining a negative pre-employment controlled substance test result;
• Failing to perform alcohol testing on a driver involved in a recordable crash;
• Allowing drivers to operate a commercial motor vehicle that had not been periodically inspected; and
• Maintaining a vehicle out-of-service rate of 46.2%.

In the weeks and months following the fatal crash, several truck drivers formerly employed with Hope Trans. Have spoken out against the company, accusing their bosses of pressuring them into unsafe driving practices. A warrant for the arrest of an unnamed Hope Trans Executive was put out at the beginning of August on felony forgery charges. That individual has still not been named. 

Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni was scheduled for a bond reduction hearing on August 11th, but records show he is still being held in the Kaufman County jail on $2.25 million bond.