Driver in I-71 crash that killed family of three cited for brake violation three weeks before wreck

The truck driver involved in a deadly construction zone crash that killed a family of three was cited for a brake violation just three weeks before the deadly incident, federal investigators say. 

The April 11th wreck happened on Interstate 71 in Delaware County, Ohio when truck driver Modou Ngom slammed into standstill traffic without touching the brakes. Ngom has since pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and four counts of vehicular assault. He was also cited for his air reservoir coming loose from his brake system.

Now, federal investigators say he was cited for a brake violation in Kansas three weeks before the wreck for a malfunction of his ABS warning light. This information comes after investigators discovered that Ngom was also convicted of driving an “unsafe vehicle” in a crash involving his drive shaft malfunctioning, which was reported to to state agencies, but was not included in federal records, reported ABC6.

New: @FMCSA says a part to semi truck driver Modou Ngom's air break system came loose as @DelCoProsecutor says he slammed into stopped traffic last month & killed a family of 3. Weeks earlier, Ngom was cited by @FMCSA for his ABS light not working, warning of failures. pic.twitter.com/v4ajfOwpLy

— Lisa Rantala (@rantalawsyx) May 5, 2026

“The OSHP crash in May 2024 was not reported to FMCSA. Under the FMCSA guidelines, a commercial crash requires reporting if the crash is fatal, causes serious injuries, or if the commercial vehicle is towed. The crash report from 2024 states that the commercial vehicle was not towed. We also checked the CAD incident recall, it identifies the commercial vehicle, through assistance of the responding wrecker, completed a slow roll to the pull off. The driver declined the responding wrecker agency and opted to make his own arrangements. The crash report reflects what the trooper observed and can verify, which was that the commercial vehicle was located at the pull off at the conclusion of the crash investigation,” said the Ohio State Highway Patrol. 

Ngom has also been accused of using fraudulent identities to obtain IDs and CDLs in the United States.for around 30 years.