I had been driving 5 years or so and wanted to see how fast I could go down a mountain loaded with 52,000 pounds of 26 foot guardrail panels. By the time I got to the curve at the bottom Jesus was sitting in the passenger seat. I made it but never tested that theory again. Slow down there hero take a few extra minutes. Those minutes won't kill you.
I have over 20 years of experience driving trucks- This is the first I’ve heard and seen this video and I can immediately tell you that this was inexperience. His brakes are gone, he tries to downshift, and he can’t get the truck back in gear- this is why he is swerving AND missed the runaway ramp, He’s panicking and knows that if he doesn’t get the truck in gear he’s in trouble. I started driving at 21 and I made this same mistake when I was younger. Fortunately I was able to get my truck stopped with no incident or damage. I definitely went to school that day. Experienced truckers all know and will agree with me, that once you lose your “foot” braking system, and then take that truck out of gear on a downgrade, you then lose your engine braking system as well, and its almost impossible to recover. This kid , due to inexperience, exhausted both his braking systems and just by watching the video, I can tell how scared shitless that kid must have been. Bad deal for everyone involved.
Thank you for your perspective that puts this into light for me. I agree with what you said but I cannot understand why did he not start to shut down his truck as shown near the end of this report in the stretch of flat highway after he did what you explained logically? That is the moment for me looking inward as an outsider that I think he should have shut it down. That said, his sentence is unjust and obscene.
@Lilman Yellow when you are 23 but brand new to truck driving... you ARE a kid. You are literally a baby driver. Are you going to sit there are say you knew everything the world had to offer the day you turned 18. I have read multiple comments blaming the schools that truckers are coming from now. They aren't provided with enough education nor are they provided with enough experience ESPECIALLY on hills. I am not saying he shouldn't take responsibility, but this was a tragic accident. I can only imagine the shear panic that he must have been experiencing as he wasn't stopping and he KNEW he was going to kill someone. He doesn't deserve the sentence he was handed.
Amen sir I've had 2 near misses going back 30 years and this screams of a nightmare ride. My first caused by dirt in the peddle regulator i rode the barrier till it stopped and i still can remember the sound the 2nd caused by fatigue and it got away from me i put it in the sand trap. This guy won't ever get to live a life again😥
@@GorgieClarissa 100 percent accurate. I drove briefly and didn't care for it. I was given two weeks of class room training and another two weeks of on the road before I was turned loose. Looking back at it now its scary to think how little time I was trained with before being left in control of one of these massive trucks.
Been driving since 2002,and like a lot of commenters said, “Training” is most important. Myself once I’ve got to the top of a grade...I drive a 13spd... I drop another gear then let gravity due the rest, only using the brakes to check the speed. Another issue is this, there are way to many driver on the road who can’t speak or read English, commercial and otherwise. This in and of itself is DANGEROUS!
A lot of new companies don’t do proper training, and run automatic transmissions. There are a lot of drivers who cannot drop a gear the old fashioned way and don’t know how to try and get their automatic to drop for them.
@@ryanlowe509 Engine braking is what we are talking about. That’s what dropping a gear does, allows the engine to slow the truck. In an automatic you have to be shown to pull back on the gear selector (in a kenworth at-least) to engage engine brakes. Our drivers that come from manuals have never used the automatics on our kenworth fleet. Based on this driver not understanding the English language he probably didn’t even know how to engine brake. Sounds like the company shouldn’t have hired him to begin with. And I don’t know what the hell “Fam braking” is?! Also it’s “braking” not “breaking”.
If you can't read the " Truck Emergency Runoff Ramp "sign as a trucker are you really fully competent as a trucker because you can't read the language of the signs on the road ? And inadequate trucker training just makes it worse..hes too inexperienced and scared to be piloting 120,000 lbs down a mountain.
The old trucker saying is "You only go down a mountain too fast one time". You learn a scary lesson or you're dead. Drove semis many years and it only takes a couple of seconds to lose control on a steep down grade.
Exactly you can't help it, I've had people cut me off or drift in to my lane will I was running semi's it's just first nature to dive to the shoulder or ditch
@@moosc -- the school and the trainers aren't worth a damned , if I put it in the ditch I'll probably die if I hit a car they're going to die and many more as seen here. You ditch it and it not even a question
Im a new driver and my first solo run was on I-70 east going through Utah and Colorado. Bad route to send a rookie. I think all the super trucker's hate me but I don't give a fa. I maintained 40-45 mph on all declines and curves. To all my newbys. The jake brake is your friend. Don't let the driver behind you drive for you let them go around if they want.
After talking to 3 truck drivers, they broke it down and said he should be held accountable. If he had experience he would've made better decisions. He zoned out under pressure. It wasn't his speed, or everything non-drivers debate about, it boiled down to his experience and how he handled that situation. They all agree the company he worked for should also be held responsible.
Yeah people dont know the truck's air brake mechanism is very different from regular vehicles. Even for new truck with perfect brakes if you dont know how to drive properly, you would still overheat the brake and make it useless in few minutes. And we know that he was driving recklessly even few hours before this incident. He always already speeding with shit tons load in the back . And then ride on his brake on a down hill to slow down , which every truck school would teach you to not to do that , and clearly didnt pay attention in school . And now you guys telling me he is what ? Should let go free ?
I've driven over 2 million miles on a regular issue DL... I always watch my rearview mirrors, always pass semis or lag far enough behind them to see their side-veiw mirrors. I don't screw around with semi's. I even follow some trucker etiquette like flashing headlights on/off to signal semi to gain the lane ahead of me. This was a tragic accident; but I do believe always being alert can sometimes change the day.
i wish a bigger percentage of drivers on the road carried with them that same common sense and consideration for their lives as well as the truck drivers...thank you for being that person
It’s very easy to sit back and criticize everything he done. I been driving for 22 yrs and I can say I was not sitting in his cab that day. But I am willing to bet he panicked severely.
I have only been driving for 1 year and I do not drive manual only automatic I was driving down a 6% grade (I’ve gotten the hang of it now) but this one time I was on 8th super controlled from one second to the next the truck kicked it to 9th AUTOMATICALLY my truck and trailer when from 50 to 60 mph in a blink of an eye! At that moment so so so many thoughts ran through my head and I can say I panicked 😱 I was fully loaded luckily I drive with my husband and he guided me to gain control back! But my point here is that him being so young and inexperienced and his truck being manual god I can just imagine how scared he was and if he couldn’t put the truck in gear and so many thoughts going through his head in just seconds! When that happened to me I felt as if time traveled over me anyways I feel so bad for him hopefully they are able to reduce the time
While I agree with you, how many warning signs is it acceptable to miss? Our truckers are part of the backbone, and should be treated as such, but people died because this dude is an idiot. Manslaughter. 110 years is too much, but people died.
Friend of mine lost his brakes but thank god he stopped ok, but he said let me tell you something, i was screaming Mama from panic attach when i lost my brakes. So you r 100% right he probably did panicked big time.
I've driven semis, articulating trucks, and 100 ton rigid frame mining trucks... I never thought this was a particularly difficult thing to do. But then I have to remember my ol lady can barely back her nissan sentry out of a parking lot. Sometimes people really do just need the extra training and when you panic you can easily miss an opportunity that would have seemed obvious to someone else.
That's very true and wise words, (except maybe your lady would be pissed) in moments of quick thinking and potential doom, training and experience is key
Exactly. I can say that there have been times where I have been under much less stress and as a result I have missed turns and exits. And within the 15 deployments I did in the Marine Corps, there is never enough practice in training to simulate the real thing. Mistakes can be made under life-threatening duress and pressure like this.
Or people also need panic training or crash training.. maybe he had anxiety and rather save the truck then going to the truck ramp. He definitely should of done some things different tho.
I am not a trucker, nor do I have any legal experience. However, I am licensed by the FAA as an aircraft mechanic, so I am fully aware with the responsibility that comes along with being privileged with certain important tasks and reaping the consequences from my actions. I also am aware of the type of investigation that the NTSB performs when an aircraft crashes, and this is where I think this truck crash is failing. When an aircraft crashes the NTSB looks at the cause of the accident and then determines a root cause(s). For example, in this incident I don't think anyone would disagree that the driver was 100% at fault, and may have even had the chance to stop due to a runaway ramp being present in his route downhill, so this would be considered the cause of the accident. Investigating further the NTSB would most likely want to know, was this person trained properly? Why wasn't the driver able to locate the runaway ramp? Was this driver over worked? Were there any other outside factors that caused the crash? Asking these surrounding questions is pertinent, could locate an entirely different root cause, and could give you a different look on the case. I believe his sentence was unjust, was due to a poor investigation into the crash, and that he had a poor defense attorney.
@@karinaz8756 How on earth the judicial system managed to convict this man and not the company is incomprehensible. All they are doing is throwing a poor man in jail for an excessively long term and letting this problem with bad business continue. I've seen 1st degree malice murder cases get 20-25 years. They shouldn't be giving this guy more than 3 if there was any indication of deliberate negligence.
@Mike the Mechanic why does every story say “the driver said his brakes failed,” “The driver alleged brake failure?” Is there no way to verify whether his brakes actually did fail? They state he was going 85 miles per hour. That doesn’t necessarily scream out of control to me (I’m from New York). Traffic is regularly moving that speed on the thruway. Maybe he was just distracted and didn’t have time to properly react which compounded everything.
I came so close to losing it in Colorado on hwy. 50 in a big truck loaded down with corn. The truck I was driving didn't have working jake brakes, and I heated the brakes up to where they were useless. The downhill seemed to never stop, there were no truck ramps. Finally I got it shut down on a level stretch just before another descent. Still sends shivers down my spine when I think of it.
It’s gotten a lot worse with these drivers. Younger Less experienced drivers, always in a rush. Just look at the results. Many times the company is at fault for lack of maintaining the trucks.
BeerCan35 you can only say that if every truck driver were trained the same way. So don’t come here and make a generalization about truckers when something bad happens.
They come from schools like where they got this instructor from. Drove truck for 2 years maybe, and knows enough to teach others, yeah, BS. They push people through these schools with not knowledge of driving a truck. Just how to shift.
I went to that same truck driving school 25 years ago. It was 8 weeks long. Our final week all we did was drive up and down that hill. I'm thankful for the training they gave me. Today, most companies run a student mill. They train them for a number of weeks and then send them on their way. I hear some companies allow drivers with 6 months of experience to become trainers. I'm surprised this doesnt happen more often!
We're bombarded with more and more distractions every day. It's scary to think what it'll be like in 10 years. Fully autonomous vehicles integrated with the drivers brain. Just plug ur head to the car and go
Who broke the Trucking Unions. Where no Unions no training.. The Driver his error lack of training, where more experienced Driver would have avoided the accident!!!
I've been through there both directions a few times in a semi, loaded. Smoking brakes, flop overs are very common. You can go down those mountians slow all your life or you can go down fast once.
The brakes failed because the idiot didnt drive the truck correctly on a mountain. There are multiple signs stating how fast trucks can go, what lane and the gear to stay in. All ignored. And he passed the RATR once his brakes got too hot. What this dude did was an egregious error. 2 million idiots dont know that and signed the petition to have this guy freed.
They signed that petition because 110 year prison sentence was WAY out of bounds. This exposes the "mandatory minimums" sentencing fiasco that you SHOULD be concerned about.
@@rustusandroid "In a statement to investigators at the time, he said he had been travelling at 85 mph downhill when the brakes failed and, although he tried to pull over onto the hard shoulder to avoid the cars, there was already a truck occupying the space." Edit: I've tried to add the source multiple times but youtube wont let me.
@@shnappers8041 The reason the truck was going that fast is because of the failure to capture the downshift and thus no engine breaking. He was also hitting the brakes as hard as he could an thus the failure. You make it sound as if he was just happily strolling down the steep inclined mountain highway at near 90 miles an hour just for funsies.
@@maxsands3861, These are the big reasons I stopped driving as well. No accidents, always safe, but all sorts of trouble with the DOT and dispatchers. These companies go cheap every way they can. That kid had no business out there at all. I am willing to bet that beyond smoked/smoking brakes, that he tried to stab some gears as he went coasting down that hill, and could not get them stabbed in. I now actually believe that he was in neutral in at least several different instances. - Along with - ...Apparently, not being able to read/identify the dam sign. I don't know how the companies are today, but I can tell you that a while back, I always seen those orange trucks (we know who they were; Started with an Sn.....) with smoked breaks nearly every single day. Now I wonder if they changed colors/company names since...
Unless you are a truck driver yourself you can't say that. You have no idea what it's like to drive a semi and be in a situation like that. He has family and was likely thinking about them. I'm not saying that the victims didn't have families as well, but when you are a driver you unfortunately don't think about other peoples families, you think about your own first because they are your priority. The company that hired him should have trained him better or not sent him out at all. I think the bulk of the responsibility falls on the company.
Marie Barnes read what truck drivers are saying about this guy on trucking forums. Most of them think he was an incompetent idiot, and there is no excuse for what happened. Any good truck driver would have used the runaway truck ramp. Failing that, they would drive the truck into the median and roll it on it's side, to stop it. What this guy did was insane.
@@MaxZomboni Except that I don't need to look at trucking forums because my own dad and uncle are truck drivers. My dad has driven that specific stretch of I-70 more times than I can even attempt to count and he and I have been talking about this situation pretty much every day since and the possible implications it could have. He agrees that he should have used the truck ramp, but he also thinks the manslaughter charges are bullshit and most of the blame belongs to the company that hired him. I don't know the drivers on some random online forum, nor do I know the amount of experience they have. My dad has been driving for over 20 years now (all of those years involved driving in the mountains) and I have seen firsthand how much control he has in that truck. I will take his word over some random stranger on the internet literally every time
Marie Barnes First he is not charged with manslaughter. He is charged with vehicular homicide, a much more serious charge. Second, the charges would be BS, if there was not video evidence, that he was out of control well before the crash, and had the opportunity to use the truck ramp, but didn't. There is a very good chace, he will be convicted.
@@MaxZomboni I apologize for misspeaking (or rather mistyping) the charges, but my dad and I still agree that the charges are not warranted. That man was not properly trained for what he was doing, and yes it should be a drivers responsibility to turn down a job if they don't feel comfortable and/or safe, but that only works to an extent. Before starting his own owner operator company, my dad worked for multiple other companies and could potentially face punishment at work or even chance being fired if he turned something down. He had a family that he was trying to support so clearly he did what was needed to put them first, even if it wasn't the safest (immediately what comes to mind as an example was hauling groceries for Safeway at night in literal blizzard conditions in the mountains). Companies and namely dispatchers are the most ignorant people I have ever encountered in relation to the trucking industry. They have zero regard for the safety of their own drivers and by extension other drivers on the road. A company has the final say in who works and who doesn't and this man should never have been hauling in the mountains. And all the video evidence really proves was that he lost his breaks and wasn't properly informed on the use and importance of a truck ramp. That was either a failure on the company he drives for or those that administered his CDL test
He was offered a 10 yr plea deal. He chose to take his chances in court. He killed 4 people, permanently disabled 2 and injured even more people, and damaged/destroyed private AND public property. He supposedly had a valid CDL. This carries additional responsibilities that are not associated with a standard operators license(class D). Pre-trip inspection? His responsibility. Red tag any defective equipment? His responsibility. Road sign knowledge? His responsibility. Safety measures knowledge? His responsibility. Maintaining control of the vehicle? His responsibility. He noted a brake defect but chose not to red tag the vehicle/trailer. He bypassed at least one runaway truck ramp knowing his brakes were deficient or insufficient for the terrain. He almost sideswiped a vehicle as he bypassed the runaway truck ramp. He did not shutdown the rig on an upgrade after bypassing the runaway truck ramp. According to his testimony, he intentionally drove into the slowed traffic to "cushion the impact", instead of going into the median. He admitted intent and displayed negligence. He received the minimum sentence for each charge on which he was convicted. Examples of lesser sentences are only comparable by which charges they were convicted on, and only those from the same State. A Texas conviction cannot be compared to a Colorado conviction. Each State has separate sentencing guidelines. Since he refused the plea deal, his sentencing cannot be compared to sentences from reduced charges from a plea deal.
Probable hateful. However, my nephew was killed by his friend while playing with guns and taking photos for Facebook. The kid didn’t do it on purpose, it was a stupid mistake. I had sympathy for him and didn’t want to see him go to prison, he got 7 years
Been a Diesel mechanic for 21 years . Have had my CDL for just as long. Most people are easy to judge and assume the worse. It takes years before you become a professional driver. Most of us have had mistakes. The only thing I cannot stand is speeding. I never have or will drive over the speed limit. If I have cars piling up behind me. I will pull over to the side of the road and let them pass.
Very considerate of you. Not many do that... but to be honest, where are these people going that is so important that they can't spend an extra five minutes to insure the roads are safe? Not all of them can be brain surgeons rushing to an emergency! People need to chill the F out!
@Nobody Said You Had To Agree With Me I like your comment. Insightful analysis.. Yes! Lack of anticipation and readiness..meaning no reasoning brain...
In a perfect world where driver and company mutually respect on another. Some companies force you to speed by paying you less and by the load. Granted this has been a problem with dump trucks but not sure about tractor trailer drivers. New drivers get caught up in the rush of pay by the load and owners tell drivers if they want more that they need to drive faster and get more loads.
@@smzig No. Truck driving companies are required to hire drivers with proper training or give them the proper training. Clearly this idiot wasn’t nearly as experienced to drive a semi. This is exactly what happened with the humboldt bus crash.
Absolutely, and the prime culprit is the truck driving schools nationwide, the standards for being a instructor are ridiculously low , with no legal ramifications for rubber stamping licenses for profit , the old system of waivers required you to stand behind that certification legally , and driver's progressed from small to largest trucks , and realistically how can you say someone is qualified to operate under all conditions after only a few weeks of instruction and mere hours behind the wheel
A woman who was there said he walked up to her and asked to use her phone. She asked if he was OK and he said yes but needed to call his friend to pick him up because he needed to get away from there or he was going do jail.
@@RSD22. People from foreign countries always say things like that and also they are completely brain dead they have no idea about technology and science They don't even understand gravity.......
I remember driving a car that had a lot of weight in it. Stopping distance I knew would be different. I took it slow, gave myself time with stops. Even with that, I still had one time where a stoplight was changing my instincts misjudged at that moment (this is why experience over time is important). I had to stop very hard, and it got my blood pumping. There was a moment where I thought that I wouldn't be able to stop. I was still being cautious enough with my driving that the worst that would happen is I would look like a fool being over the stop line and maybe need to back up. I still felt embarrassed even though it was only a quarter of my car past the stop line.
Totally inexperienced Flatlander with no instructions on mountain driving. I'm guessing he was running too fast ever since he exited the tunnel riding his brakes the whole time burning them out. Then couldn't read the runaway ramp sign or even know what it meant. The real criminal here is the owner of the company that put him in the seat and the state of Texas for giving him a CDL. I hope they get her before she flees the country.
Michael Heathman I have been through that the truck he was driving might have had an automatic transmission. Trucks with automatic transmission's in them are getting quite popular these days. (I watch a CZcams channel where the driver just got a new truck that has an auto transmission in it, it also a Jake brake.) My Husband thinks that he might have been Hauling a stolen load of lumber, it happens all of the time. Bless You.
@@carolynjones6457 If he had an automatic transmission then what is his excuse for letting the truck get out of control? Automatic transmissions makes descending a hill more efficient than a standard. I can set the cruise control with an automatic transmission at a safe speed for a long steep grade and that truck will maintain that speed all the way down the grade without ever going over the set speed. By the way most rigs don't have automatic transmissions as they have manual automated transmissions.
@@ffjsb HE WILL PROBABLY SNEAK ACROSS USA'S SOUTHERN BORDER AND HIDE IN MEXICO OR HONDURAS FOR A WHILE WITH A FAKE ID. THEN HE WILL BE BACK IN THE USA, DRIVING 18 WHEELERS, WITH A FAKE CDL, AND WILL HAVE 18 ANCHOR BABIES!!
At 80 miles an hour, downhill, at 80K lbs of weight, no brakes and no way to downshift, I think it logical to think this driver definitely panicked that caused him to forget to “think” or react in time to get it to slow down by using the runaway truck ramp.
If his brakes went out down one decline then had to climb another then decided to go down another steep grade knowing he didn't have brakes, yeah the sentence is fitting. Ignorance is no excuse when getting paid.
Here what everyone is kinda missing he was sentence on "23" total charges in all, that carried "mandatory"jail sentence and they all have to be ran "Consecutively"(separate sentence).... If anything ppl need to advocate those old as laws,in that state because if those charges able to run "Concurrent"Lets say for the sake of argument,He could've gotten 10 yrs on each of the 23(230 yrs sentence)charges,but if they was able to run Concurent(run together to serve one sentence) He would be only serving 10 yrs lock up only..So why no one challenging those old as sentencing guidelines in that state?🤷🏾♂️
It's crazy how people are quick to forgive this man over his actions killing 4 people because of a bad sentencing law. What this man did was no better than getting behind the wheel drunk and killing 4 people. His case may have brought light to the sentencing guidelines, but he doesn't deserve to be treated as a martyr. Fix this law, then fix the laws that allowed him to drive a truck and allowed the trucking company to get away.
During the mid-1990's I drove a semi for four years. When I went through truck driving school, and after I was hired, I was teamed up with a trainer for 6 weeks. When it came to mountain driving, I was taught "Whatever gear you used to go up one side, when you get to the top and start down, use that same gear, and start slow and use the brakes to check the speed to keep it at a safe pace." Following that rule, I never had any problems, and I covered passes in all the western states at one time or another. Had to cover Cabbage Hill in Oregon one time under semi-snowy conditions. No problems, but I was sweating after I got down. Just gotta use common sense and your brains.
Hi. Thank you. Can you explain a bit more. Do you use a low gear to go up a hill as well? Is that why you can use the same gear going down again. I’m confused.
@@maldiviansun8500 Yes. As you begin going uphill, the fight against gravity increases. Think about what happens if you begin pedaling a bicycle up a hill: As you start going up, you have to pedal harder. So to increase your "pedal power", you shift down to a lower gear to continue pedaling as you go up the hill. Once you reach the top and start down the other side, you can simply coast. But as you continue to coast down the hill, you begin to pick up speed. Of course, you and the bike weigh only a couple of hundred pounds, so slowing and stopping aren't that difficult. However, in a truck with the total weight of a possible 40 tons (80,000 pounds), the effect of gravity's downward pulling is much more, meaning it takes more braking power. So staying in a low gear starting from the top and keeping the speed slow, it's easier (and safer) to stop all that weight if needed. Brakes operate by friction. The more you push on the brake pedal, the longer the brakes are in contact, which is more friction, which in turn creates more heat. At some point, they begin to overheat and burn up. When that happens, there is a smell of burning asbestos and the sight of smoke from the brakes and wheel areas. At that point, you have brake failure with very few to none, options of stopping all that weight. I hope this helps your understanding.
@@maldiviansun8500 the low, tight gear is necessary to climb with the weight going up, and the same low, tight gear then helps hold the speed in check coming down by restraining the engine through the rear and trans geared combination. A specific gear will be optimum for a specific hill. Always better to go slower till you know WHICH GEAR to be in. Once the weight gets away, it becomes very difficult to reconnect in a synchronized transmission.
@@maldiviansun8500 So your Truck has 13 forward gerars and 3 gears in Reverse.. if you weigh 80,000 pounds and you have a 7% grade for 6 miles and your Truck has 500 Horse Power you will probobly bog down to 35-40 MPH maybe have to shift down to 8th 9th gear.. Now maybe if you Truck had 2,000 Horsepower you could pull that grade at 70 MPH in 12th Gear..
@@maldiviansun8500 Typical Class 8 Truck has 500 HP it's not going to pull a Mountain Grade in high Gear Overdrive.. at 70 MPH but if you had a Truck like this with 3,000 horse power you might be able to pull that hill at 70 MPH.. All the same you better use a much lower gear on the down hill so you have engine braking to Control your speed because if you leave it in high gear you will over heat your brakes so much they will fail and stop slowing the truck down very much .. czcams.com/video/Pe42q8ZmjGU/video.html
He’s a young driver, and even some who have been driving for years will say that’s a dangerous part. why not investigate the company? Why did they have such a young inexperienced driver on that road.
Driver couldn't speak English, can't read signs, undertrained, and unqualified. And the highways are full of them. Foreign drivers are everywhere now and it makes for a dangerous situation
@god uh...no. they dont want to work for 6 tamales a day thats all. Foreign labor who come from 3rd world countries who pay $20 a month will come and do it for cheap and like it.
The company he was driving for was Castellano 03 based in Houston, TX by some random guy who registered his fleet of five trucks to a residential home. They guy immediately applied for a new trucking company before "going out of business" aka switching the name of the company and DOT number to a new one known as "Volt trucking" at the same residential address. This is obviously a pattern of irresponsibility.
Hey WEchoing Faithfully .. Great Due Dilligance there. One news Agency siad it it was Castellano 02 LLC .. I searched it found his name and two addressws and all I found was that the Company was disolved. 4 People were killed and Millions in Damage even to the Pavment .. So this Dude that Operates a Trucking Company to Mexican Standards is still operating under a new Busiss name.. Might be 4 trucks now .. As he lost one truck and trailer in an Inferno ..
Theres no way to count the times i pulled over and tightened my brakes at the top of a grade , then started down in granny low back in the days when most trucks had no jakes. Never had an issue.
Well the foriegners they let drive here don't get that memo and the ones I've talked to either don't csre or apear to have not been trained right, if at all and if they get into an accident they think its not their fault or its no big deal. Thats my experience.
Cory Hispanics are getting it back and that’s why there’s an urgency to deport because whites will be a minority in less that a century. That’s why trump has Russian women come to the US to give birth in the Trump tower and leave, adding more numbers to the Caucasian race.
There was no problem with the brakes, he just over heated them which makes them turn into mush. I drove a concrete mixer in some of the worst conditions imaginable. The streets of San Francisco, Oakland hills, Berkeley hills, Los Gatos hills. I didn't care if I held up traffic, all I cared about was getting up or down those hills in one piece.
Wow Sanfransico would be hard on brakes on a Cement Truck with an automatic Transmission .. A Jake Brake would be great.. I have an Oshkosh M-911 Tank Crrier with a 750 Allison Auto and it has a brake retarder pedal that uses the Torque converter as an engien brake.. it works if you use a low gear so the engine is turing higher RPMS./. save were and tear on the drum brakes..
Just a question for any truckers who have been driving for a good while now let’s say I’m a new driver and I’m on I-70 would it be better if I were to use the jake and help control my speed as well as dropping a gear if needed I know absolutely nothing about trucking but I do know the jake is used to help reduce brake wear I kinda want to get a trucking job in the future because I genuinely enjoy driving
Yes it would be better. You should know in advance of taking a downgrade what gear is required, in conjunction with the engine brake, to hold a legal speed on grades of various steepness, and get configured properly before starting down.
@@GH-oi2jf ok thank you I work right across the way from the PA turnpike and while it doesn’t look like a steep grade I do hear a good amount of truckers using the jake as they whiz past
And the prior owner is out of the country replaced until everything dies down then he or she can come back when the dust settles and be right back at it. This shit would stop if they started making the people who gave this guy a cdl illegally in the first place liable.
I'm a new driver and I cannot and won't speak for all CDL courses, but one of the first things covered in the CDL training I took (Houston TX) was when going downhill NEVER take the truck out of gear. We don't have many hills here (excluding the ship channel bridge) but this clip needs to be shown in all classes as warning.
I say exactly the same the true facts in this case and video .. could make a perfect training video ..in Truck Driving School .. Echoing Faithfully 1 day ago The company he was driving for was Castellano 03 based in Houston, TX by some random guy who registered his fleet of five trucks to a residential home. They guy immediately applied for a new trucking company before "going out of business" aka switching the name of the company and DOT number to a new one known as "Volt trucking" at the same residential address.
When you decrease income, and increase regulations nearly annually, you push out the experienced drivers who do it cause they like it and end up with inexperienced drivers who do it cause it's an easy job to get into
you dont have any clue what you are talking about. i guess you think the higher the wages, the better the driver. wage dont make a driver any better, experience and common sense do
@@bjvu9460 not directly, but higher earnings means the employers have a larger selection of drivers to hire, in which case they'll likely hire the more experienced driver over a rookie
You can thank the beloved "free market" for that. Truckers and pilots alike deserve appropriate compensation for their training, skill and responsibility. But when you cut the pay, you cut the proficiency. The Rochester air crash was a perfect example of getting what you pay for in pilot aptitude.
I'd run my truck off a high cliff and make a desperate ("Hail Mary") jump for it at the last second, before slamming my truck into innocent people. That's just me.
Yeah the reporter pointing solutions after the fact, from the knowledge of a very experienced instructor. But we are talking about a early 20s kid with barely any experience on panic mode. Now does he deserve 110 years absolutely not! Larry Wayne Mahoney killed 27 people while drunk driving he was sentence to 16 years, got out in 9 for good behavior, think about it.
a number of years ago I did some brake certification testing for a major coach manufacturer. I don't remember the exact specifics, but the premise was to load the vehicle to the max GVW, put it at the top of a long steep hill, and it must maintain a certain speed all the way down without using the primary brakes. The primary brakes typically won't last in an application like that which is why large vehicle typically have an auxiliary braking system such as an engine or transmission brake.
I ran i70 one time in my career last winter and that was enough to strike the fear of god into me. This guy made a tragic mistake but I think his company potentially set him up for failure too if he wasn’t familiar. I was warned about that route from the beginning personally
@@GoldPhoenix Nope, tell whoever gives you the load your going through Wyoming or the U.S. highways below i70, quote enough money to justify the route or let the freight rot Aside from i70 west of Denver being a death trap from dope smoking liberals, there is no one to come get you if your truck brakes down It’s a waste of time and money to take i70
@@GoldPhoenix Yeah people can freeze to death if your truck stops running I got a load not too long ago went from Louisiana to salt lake, 3 different routes with i70 west the shortest distance, but I80 is quicker bc you can go 80-85 mph through Wyoming, I drove i80, told them I was gona drive i80, and got extra money not to go through i70
This is also a result of a shortage of experienced truckers and experienced and good drivers quitting the industry. Companies are more inclined to hire mediocre and shady drivers. Regulations, lower pay, longer runs, working environment and crappy employers play a big part in these accidents. If you want the good drivers to stay, give them the pay. And fire toxic managers and employees.
If you try to tell his fans that he head the chance to take exits! They call you liar! They also attack you including calling you a stolen valor vet and will say your DD214 is fake!Say there is no sign! Same on him trying to flee the scene he was recorded and bystanders had to stop him! Then he was talking to supervisor who wanted to stay on shoulder neither knew about using the emergency exit! Poor maintenance by trucking firm but they also hire crappy drivers who can not read signs which they was also cited for! When you mention that truckers check their own breaks while on road his fans say NO company does that! So how is the mechanic in Houston going to do that in DENVER!! He also told judge he chose to crash at the time to save his worthless life killing four others! He lied when he said he did everything not to! No honking horn or having lights on! He will get a reduced sentence and could of took a plea deal for 10 so whatever deport him after jail!
You make valid points @Stephen Young Nothing wrong with his Brakes until he overheated them in Utah the Day before .. then he continued to CO and overheated them again .. The sings say Keep Truck in a Low Gear .. Keep in Right Lane .. Speed Limit for Trucks 45 MPH on the Downhill grade.. Then me missed a gear and was flying down the Mountain in Nutral at 85 MPH .. While talking on his Phone with his GF.. Did he try to help anyone at the Accident? No he borrowed a cell phone and called Relatives and said he is going to Jail ..
And the Answer to the "Driver Shortage in America", Hire Foreigners w/LITTLE to NO O T R experience, Not Fluent in the English language, Give them DIRT CHEAP wages, Drive Substandard equipment and EXPECT POSITIVE RESULTS at the End!!!!!!!!!!
@@raulthepig5821 I lived in texas for most of my life and worked with many companies that hired illegals, knowing they're illegal. And guess what? Most bosses are white. Not racist. Facts.
@@savageo1343 agree! I have seen PEMEX welders illegally working but they use community college welders to pas as if they did the job. Shit crazy, all just to save money
JoePJack1 it is 100% the drivers responsibility, it is called a pre-trip inspection. You are required by law to do one at the beginning on every shift of driving, which includes checking and adjusting the brakes. There is a section on the CDL test just for Air-Brakes, you must pass it. If you don’t know how to downshift to avoid riding the brakes, they will heat up and either catch fire or expand to the point they can no longer hold back the weight of the tractor/trailer; at that point you have a run away. From the video he had several opportunities to ditch the truck without massive damage.
His brakes failed? NORMALLY,,,,you'll see the brakes smoking before you get to the point to where they are useless. I've been up and down that hill many times with 45,000lbs of freight in the box yet never had an issue. You can go down a mountain grade 1,000 times too slow but only once too fast. The company I drive for has made the switch to airdisc brakes and they're great but still,,,,,,you need to manage your speed descending the hills.
@@pinkflydnt Perhaps his brakes failed altogether (not worked at all when applied). In that case, he need to get to the shoulder(right side), not the middle of the road.. But this might be his first time on that grade on that road..so he panics because he watching to see how the next turn will be and at the same time watch out for cars.
@TheRetiredtrucker I love in the 'in truck video' part of the piece, you see a pickup with a camper trailer whiz on past. Prolly one of those; you need a bigger tow vehicle for safety types. The fine art of snubbing isn't taught much anymore... To deadly results, apparently.
We have a driver shortage. You know why? Trucking companies that went to make a profit at the expense of their employees. Let’s see the maintenance records of the entire fleet. That kid was young when this happened. It’s just inexperience. No way is he getting life and the company has zero culpability.
I’m retired now after 44 years of truck driving . I remember being told to drive trucks with break problems including trailers without no braking capabilities by my supervisors . When I refused to drive them I was put on suspension for two weeks. Brakes was a lot of the problems, the owners , supervisors and mechanics who signed off repairs when none were done should be indicted too . I worked for a company whose mechanic was one of our helpers that was a junkie , what a joke . I was so glad to leave this company. When I first started driving I was told to drive a tractor and trailer almost 700 mile to OREGON. It was a international cab over 13 speed with a 45 ft trailer , I never ever been inside a semi before lol . I told my boss that I don’t feel comfortable driving this after taking it around the block in 2nd gear and was told if I didn’t I was fired . I had just started with this moving company and needed a job so I did it . I didn’t have a CDL or Medical Card or log book lol , it’s a wonder i didn’t kill anybody...God had his hand on me . So what I’m saying is DON’T put all the blame on this young man , he probably had no idea what a runaway ramp was , like I didn’t at first .
Everyone here commits dozens of driving infractions per day and no one blinks an eye, this man made a mistake while driving and for reason unknown (panic) made the wrong call. He does deserve time for taking the lives of 4 people but we all know 110 years is egregious.
I hear you but also this guy doesn't speak English and he wants to be in America without learning the language I'm sorry first you have to be aware of the language or you have to work a Mexican construction job until you learn the language you don't get to drive a truck on American roads without any knowledge of the language on the signs this guy should rot in hell as well as prison for the rest of his life and it is what it is dude I'm a natural-born American I'm not driving a truck I'm living in my van I don't have a good job in fact I lost my concrete job to to illegals who came from Guatemala three months ago so it is true they take your jobs and I'm one of the only white people working construction my friends are all Mexican and two of them also lost their job
When I was over the road I drove that stretch many times.. I’ve driven grades steeper than that as well and I would see guys smoking up their brakes trying to slow down their 80,000 lb rigs. You take every necessary precaution before you get to hill. Doesn’t matter what language you speak you should know the warning signs. The company itself should be responsible for every single fine and fee.
I agree with you. A few people is putting our limited knowledge about the English idiom as an excuse to make a judgment. Languages does not drive. People does.
I had brake fade in a fully loaded (with weight) Honda Accord east on 322 out of State College PA when I hit that huge grade too fast the 1st time I drove it and used the 6 speed manual transmission to slow it down; I can't imagine an eighteen wheeler.
I have over 43 years trucking, if you've never trucked down a mountain fully loaded when things are going wrong I do not care what your opinion is! Next, experts are rarely right in these situations! More often than not they are highly educated knuckleheads. Could that kid have stopped, if that kid had the training and experience, yes. He didn't though, why didn't he? First because our predatory profit at all cost financial system demands trucking companies get as little for moving freight as possible. Secondly, because the Federal government brings in temporary work visa workers to drive truck, which pushes down trucker wages so long time truckers quit, the skillset is disappearing. This means no freaking way kids can be adequately trained like I was back in the early 70s. So that expert is an idiot period. Next, what the heck is wrong with the courts? This kid got 110 years, now the DA is suggesting 20 to 30 years? For a stupid moment from an unskilled labourer? Yes, the Federal Government classification of a trucker is an unskilled labourer! If a doctor kills you on the operating table through an error in judgment how many years does she get in jail??? Zero! Doctors are highly professional, highly trained, but they accidentally kill you no jail time. This is pure evil on the part of the DA, the prosecutors, and the entire legal system. Stand up for this kid, he deserves our support. Yes he should receive some punishment but 20 years?
@Lark As long as the brake pedal is even slightly depressed the light would come on. You could take the entire brake system out of the truck, but there are still sensors that detect when the pedal is pushed down.
Its possible he wasnt on the brakes, hoping they would cool enough by the bottom of the hill to start working again. You only have seconds, yes seconds of good brakes on a grade like that. Gearing is everything. Keep the vehicle speed down enough with gearing so that if you need to stop you can. Loose the gear, pickup too much speed and it's over. That's what the runaway ramps are for. Too bad he didnt use them... they can do damage to the rig though, and it's a call he would have to make to corporate, so its possible he was just hoping he could regain control and it would be a no harm no foul type situation.... unfortunately it wasnt.
I drove a Truck for over 20 years I was pulling a 120 foot concrete beam when I had my brakes fail first thing was to start down shifting as quickly as I could until I was able to get my truck off an off ramp and into the grass shoulder the whole thing was very intense but I had been prepared for this because as a driver you have to be ready for anything that may happen while on the road you don't just get behind the wheel and drive if you can prepare as best for a situation as possible your panic level is cut by more than half and will allow you to be able get through the situation if all else fails when u get the room flip the truck
No Darwin Award from you .. Too bad the Driver from Cuba with a Green Card .. could not even read all of the steep grade warning signs in English and he didn't even know what a Runaway Truck Ramp was for ..
I'm not a truck driver but I have several questions. If you loose your breaks and loose control of the truck how are you supposed to gear the truck. Call me naive but if the truck is loaded going down hill wouldn't that cause the truck to loose more control as it gains momentum?
You are supposed to get into a suitable gear before getting onto the downgrade. And you have brake problems, you should not be operating the truck at all.
@@bassfishingmtthevlogs4037 - What I was saying was that the video is blaming him for ignoring a sign, then goes back and says he couldn't read it. Your comment is what happens when you're looking for a reason to be offended. Get off of your feelings and use logic every now and then. Ignorant
@@GoatyHerps A runaway truck ramp looks the Same in any language Even if He couldn't read the sign he should be able to recognize what it is just from what it looks Like .... And that is how logic works
@@TheGunny190 - They said he ignored the signs. Then said he couldn't read them. ALSO, if you don't know it's coming up, are you supposed to just swerve all the way through the other lanes to reach it? Nice try, troll, but you're still an idiot.
So to read those signs it takes one year? I'm over a year and knew about those signs in my first week of driving. Your going down a hill and your brakes are going out the first day and there's a yellow sign FLASHING for a runaway ramp, would you go in the first or second ramp?
No but if something like that was to happen and you go in panic mode do you really think 95% of people will be worrying about reading signs you going to be to busy panicking!
@St Matthew no shit, but he spoke/read english poorly and was panicking and a rookie. shouldnt have been on the road in the first place. and the other guy just said that some of them were closed
I live in denver and drive up and down this stretch of i70 all the time. First and foremost, ignorance or inability to act is not an excuse for causing harm (especially if you hold a license to do what you’re trained to do)just like a doctor can’t claim he/she didn’t know something and then can’t be liable for malpractice. Second, there are plenty of opportunities to bail/slow down on this part of downhill. Third, there are a lot of warning signs for the steep downhill to come. Lastly, this is a terrible situation for everyone, and I really believe a better and more stringent drivers license test should be implemented, especially for us regular drivers.
Good, glad they had a professional respond to the situation. The driver has full responsibility to run that truck, he didn't follow down grade driving procedure. He didn't put the truck in low gear and use the engine break.
Some companies have their own cdl school. So if that company is owned by someone that came from a different country they can pretty much hire whoever they want!
@Stephen Murphy This has been going on since deregulation. For example the state of Illinois for years allowed CDL's to be awarded to refugees from the European wars starting in the 80's. Causes all kinds of problems when the driver cannot read English. Not to mention the fact they were all young men like this guy.
Those signs are not in the cdl booklet for Colorado. Idk about Texas. You need mountain driving experience to come down I-70 and know what to do when your brakes burn up.
If it was a DUI or he was under the influence, I’d agree with the sentence. I know in the heat of the moment, a lot of people tend to lose what they’ve been trained in. Happens all the time besides driving, I’ve seen people get CPR certified and when something happens, they freeze.
This is a speeding incident with a 100 ton or more truck. He had one job and fail in his choise to speed he took a few Life's for this he got what he got if you going to feel sorry feel sorry for the family who lost a member not the survivor who speeding caught up to him.
@@joedirt1417 I don't but having worked in the industry all rental trucks are governed for safety all former rental trucks are governed for safety. Most of the manufacturers govern for safety which include international, Mack, freightliner, and volvo. The highest that is allowed by these companies would be 80 mph. Now the question would be did his shop mechanics disable the governor.
@@insertrandomnamehere764 governed trucks do NOT miraculously slow down coming down a mountain. They are made to stop allowing the fuel to increase the speed of the truck. This mountain has sharp turns and the speed limit for trucks is 35 MPH. I have driven it many times. A governed truck doesn't defy gravity, only brakes do that.
I had a similar issue whilst driving an articulated truck in the UK some time ago. The trailer was retro fitted with an axle taken off an ex BP tanker. I was slowing down for a traffic island just outside Barnstaple when a loud bang came from somewhere under the trailer. I lost all brakes on the trailer but luckily the tractor unit had good brakes so I got it under control. It turned out that the wrong size brake shoes had been fitted to the ex tanker trailer axle. In fact it caused the S cam that forces the brake shoes onto the drum had actually gone right over and became jammed unable to reset and the lining on the shoe had broken free (the bang). Because of this It knocked out all the other brakes on the trailer. The garage had never seen anything like it before.
@@spacemanchriss you have to understand that with the new e-log, which replaced the paper log, you can't game the system to make up lost time and thus lost money. Since the federal agencies are literally observing your driving schedule now, most drivers are starting to drive aggressively and quickly to recover lost downtime and miles by speeding. Put simply, Limited time = speeding
@@MyWatchIsEnded -- that's been going on for decades, it's called milage pay or per load flat rate, pay the drivers hourly and this makes a huge difference, proplem is we don't have drivers any more, they will give anyone with $5000 a license, doesn't make them a qualified driver though , you pay shit wages and ask someone to live out of a truck for weeks at a time your not going to attract quality people, only desperate and lazy people
Has nothing to do with e-logs brother, it’s the driver. Attitude filled and acts as if the whole road is his, he feels he’s entitled to do as he wants on the roads. So many of these company drivers and I blame the big companies because they hire them for pennies and of course you’re going to get Mr. can’t speak English filled with rage and attitude as if he is in a regular car. I really hope this guy gets years behind bars. He deserves it and we deserve to have him off the roads. Along with many other wannabe drivers thinking they’re hot shit making 800-1200 a week driving 4-5000 miles hahahaha. Silly rabbits. I clear 3 after 2 days and home on the 3rd enjoying the rest of my week with my family. ALL OUT OF A 26ft box truck haha. To each is own. You gotta have a brain for this business aswell so you know what you’re worth 🤷🏼♂️. At the end of the day E-logs are equipped with “personal convenience” so they can make up for lost time. You can change it to off duty or on duty while in a traffic jam and won’t deduct your “drive time” so I really don’t take that “elog” excuse because there is plenty ways to use it and for it to be helpful
I'm not a trucker but have the upmost respect for them! My uncle has 30 years under his belt. I've had this conversation with him a weeks ago. One thing he made clear was that the kid DID NOT check his brakes before leaving the facility. He should've "pumped brakes" to see if the system holds pressure. (I've heard trucks due that when driving multiple times...) He also stated that the young kid pretty was probably worried that he'll get fired due by his company destroying cargo, etc.... So many scenarios probably was going through his head. He could've avoided time if did an inspection of the truck prior to leaving. The liability would've been on the company. Poor guy. Feel bad for him and those who passed.
i have two issues. First those from less developed countries have more of a short term survivalist attitude, They are focused on trying to do the job they are asked to, and are often not capable of thinking the long term implications. This is not a moral issue, but rather a cultural one. Whoever hired this guy is 100% responsible for this tragedy. They should have recognized he was not capable of safely handling the truck. Regardless of if its an assembly line worker or a truck driver, the employer is responsible for the training. Secondly, if by chance this truck got through this without causing an accident, or possibly was involved in a minor accident, no one would have been cited for a major crime. But our justice system if governed by emotion. People dying has nothing to do with the level of the moral judgement of the individual. It has more to do with luck. So why is this driver punishment any greater between one who gets lucky, and one who is unlikely. Yes, this is a tragedy that people died, but the "crime" of the individual is no different.
I believe inexperience and fear played the ultimate roll in this tragic and unfortunate event. 110 years is ridiculous, and it's obvious the man feels terribly about what he unfortunately was the cause of. TEXAS is mainly flatland. An inexperienced driver may not know the dangers associated with Mountainous driving or the mechanics of how the brake system could possibly fail due to those circumstances. At the same time I understand the familes of the unfortunate victims want answers justice, and closure. Giving this man 110 years for vehicular manslaughter is not going to give anyone what they want, and that's already apparent. God bless the Families affected.
Exactly, while intended criminals, including those who kill in mass shootings, get exaggerating brief or no sentences. The investigation does not show details on the reason this driver was not able to take the emergency ramp; In these types of vehicles, it's not like the driver figures right away the situation to make fast decisions. I wonder if the employer company was investigated as well. The judges many times are also not impartial and motivated for other reasons than the letter of the law.
110 is ridiculous, I agree. 110 is also the minimum guideline based on the circumstances of the case, and that is a State issue. However, how terrible this man feels is irrelevant. Four people are dead, and several others were injured. Even if he was only found guilty and given the max on the 4 counts of vehicular homicide, it's still 24 years. He was found guilty on approx 20 different counts. So my question to you would be, what is the sentence you would consider justice? Four people are dead. Accident or not, if it was your family member that died, how much is their life worth to you?
I kills me to say this but a large percentage of truck drivers I've met have NO BUSINESS behind the wheel of an 80klb. Truck. Most shouldn't be driving a passenger car.
UPDATE 12/2021: The young man's sentence was reduced to 10 yrs with eligibility for parole in 5 instead of 110 years by the governor! This was an ACCIDENT & everyone involved agreed that this young man did NOT intentionally cause his brakes to fail. People felt he should have taken the truck ramp, but this was his first time having a brake failure while carrying a load & he panicked while trying to stop the truck! Don't be so quick to judge him or call him names. You never know when you are going to step on YOUR brakes & have them fail just like the Toyota recall due to brake failure! It could happen to any of us as we go to stop in traffic and the results could be catastrophic. This guy was an honest, hardworking man who had a bad accident that unfortunately caused deaths and resulted in him getting prison time. He wasn't drinking & he lived his life responsibly! He got LIFE in prison for an ACCIDENT! NO WAY! This could happen to ANY ONE OF US even though we may not drive big rigs! I signed that petition to get his sentence reduced. He made a mistake, but he WAS NOT trying to kill people! He tried to stop his rig, he wasn't trying to hurt people even though he did and he DOES NOT deserve life in prison for an accident! PERIOD!
@@jayr122001 - Razer I gave you a thumbs up because a mini cooper absolutely could cause a chain reaction accident! In fact, every time I see one of those little cars in front of me I want to ride up on it with monster big wheels and crush it like the tiny tin can it is, BUT, then I would be labeled uncivilized and/or crazy and I wouldn't want that! Anyway, back to your point, that car causes me to want to have an accident by crushing it every time I see it! :-)
He was offered a 10 years deal from the DA, which any sounding person would accept it. But apparently he think he shouldn’t get any jail time and gamble with the jury.
@@Paul-sk2pc - It was an accident Paul! He didn't take a deal and he shouldn't have had to choose between a 10 year sentence and LIFE in prison! His brakes failed and he did all he could to stop his truck! His brakes failing wasn't something he could control. I'm so glad his sentence will be revisited! He doesn't deserve what he got for that ACCIDENT!
I agree but the homicide charges are a bit much. Don't think he set out to kill people unless they're hiding hes an ISIS operative or something. Unless they cut a plea deal, he may walk since a jury will have a hard time justifying homicide over manslaughter.
You're entitled to your opinion but I don't really think it's fair to be judgmental like that, if he were under the influence or if this were intentional I would probably agree with that, but nobody knows what he was up against but him and God.
@@Ksmuve37 in a situation like that as a truck driver, you just have to know. department of transportation will tell every truck driver, your suppose to know. him driving pass that runaway ramp i will never understand. i driving over mountains and know where they were just incase. you have to know. prevents you shouldve known
@@ItzDrPlow The issue was likely that he was a young, low skill immigrant with limited English/literacy and limited experience. A recipe for disaster. I still don't think the homicide charges are justified. Hell they made that announcement that he would be taken into custody and charged while the bodies were warm and the cars still burning, which was odd, to say the least.
He did not read and understand English. In Brownsville Texas he was tested by 3rd party tester that is paid by the employer. This company had 5 drivers only. He had several opportunities to use run away truck ramps. He did know how go in lower gears and use the Jake brake. When I first started driving my first load was from Salt Lake to Denver and never train on mountain driving and had no issues going down that same grade. This person had very little training and a pencil whipped license.
The runaway truck ramp literally doesn’t even look like a ramp. It looks like it’s basically suicide if you choose to go there. This is very complicated.
Watch a couple vids on runaway truck ramps in action, and you'll be convinced of how well they work. Regardless, if he'd been in lower gear, those people would probably still be alive.
I'm not sure about the runaway ramp being clearly marked. Its just a small yellows sign and the ramp isn't clearly distinguishable from the highway from a distance. Its almost looks like an offramp or just another lane. Correct if wrong, but it appears that way on the video. Where i live, truck runaways are much more clear than that.
@@iamtheoffenderofall C'mon...that's not "fare". LOL! Seriously, there's gotta be a line where enough's enough and people should be embarrassed and refrain from posting in public if you're gonna (going to) write with a 1st grade vocabulary or composition. I hate when I have to pull out my Lucky Charms decoder ring just to read a few sentences.
USE LOWEST GEAR POSSIBLE SO YOUR FOOT DOESN'T HOLD DOWN THE BRAKE PEDAL FOR A LONG TIME. BECAUSE THE BRAKES GET HOT, AND THEY GIVE OUT. USE ENGINE BRAKE, LOW GEAR, AND IF ALL ELSE FAILS, USE THE RUNAWAY RAMP. YES, IT'S $10,000 FINE. BUT THAT FINE BEATS 110 YEARS IN PRISON AND 4 LOST SOULS. I KNOW HE DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE. BUT HE HAS OPTIONS.
Actually it's no false rumors. It's the truth. I know someone who used the runaway ramp at Lebec, CA going down 5....where it's 35 mph for truckers. His brakes gave out, used the runaway his fine was 10k. However I believe other things were involved in that 10k fine. That's how much it was. But 10k fine is a lot better than 110 years locked up. That's just wrong.
@@manuelamootsy6871 He might have gotten such a huge fine even for going 40 or 45 initially, causing the loss of brakes. Speeding fines on Grapevine are HUGE!
Up here in Canada in 2018 we lost almost a whole hockey team, the Humboldt Bronco's. Same thing, an inexperienced driver who made a horrible mistake crashed through an intersection and took out the whole bus. We just implemented much, much, much harder courses and tests to become a commercial truck driver in Canada. It made the whole course literally 10X harder and 4X longer to get. Not to mention 4X the price. Is it a good idea? Yeah, a very good idea.
The trucks brakes did NOT fail, what happened is the driver refused to drive it properly overheating the brakes. Crashing into those cars was a deliberate act not an accident, he chose to ram into those cars.
Heart goes out to the impacted families. However, many opportunities for the driver to avoid a fatal crash by using the road shoulders and over turn the tractor if he missed the opportunity to utilize any other means. Who’s to blame? Companies that hire and fail to provide minimal training for those circumstances.
Whose to blame? The system. Its far too easy to get a license in the states, both civilian and commercial tests are far too easy compared to other countries.
Mike Pinson I agree with you fell it was preventable being an old truck driver and a tractor-trailer instructor I can see on top of the hill where he was having troubles that stretch of road have been banned by most companies l used to work for back in the 70s
Jonny what kind of crack are you smoking? This shit was 100 percent preventable. If you haven't driven that stretch of road with a semi stfu idiot. Dude deserves the max penalties for his actions.
It’s easy to point out examples of opportunities to stop when you’re calm, collected, not in an emergency and driving incredibly slowly with the intent of pointing at the runaway truck ramp.
The worst part is, all these Cubans are very arrogant towards other people when they get their CDL. FBI should launch an investigation specially in Houston, where a lot of them arrive from Florida because they know is guaranteed they will pass that test. I believe there are lots of Cubans working inside Houston DMV offices and they are taking money under the table to "help" their compatriots get that kind of license.
I think this also happens here in California. My son in law is a truck driver for 11yrs he takes safety driving very seriously. I think the FBI should do a very serious investigation on all companies in California. Urgently!!! This is scary. 😡
@@aracelicruz8859 it's becoming a very serious problem since they don't want to do any other kind of job, they will find a way to get that license and here's the results.
Another thing I noticed is that he doesn’t even have emergency lights flashing or maybe I didn’t notice them. I wonder if there’s more to this story. The guy looks like he moved away from Emergency exit. 🤷🏻♂️
Can any truck drivers explain whether this type of scenario is brought up during training. I strongly suggest there be a separate certification for mountain driving just like hazardous waste certification.
Mike LaVelle oh ok makes sense I think that’s great. It’s a start hopefully all long haul truckers who will potentially travel through this type of terrain will get properly trained. Appreciate the insight thank you very much.
I was reading that it can cost anywhere from $4000 to as much as $10,000 just to have a truck towed off of a runaway truck ramp. On top of that they will also have to pay for the maintenance on the ramp in order to have it filled back in and whatever else needs to be done to have it ready for the next runaway truck and then there is the cost of repairing the truck itself. I wonder if maybe those costs were on that drivers mind and instead of taking the ramp he crossed fingers, hope for the best and ended up making the wrong decision.
Wow, he panicked for sure...cost the lives of innocent people and him his livelihood. I've been a truck driver for over 25 years now ...experience accounts for everything!.
That's normal for business. Are you a fucking idiot that would bid out to companies that have a higher cost for transport? Pretty sure you'd lose your job fast. The real "cheap company" is the one that put people in harms way is the cheap company that hired a dirty immigrant (cheap labor) and put them in the driver's seat. That directly put people's lives at risk while someone wanting the cheapest rate of transport is just normal. You may claim it is enabling, but it isn't the real cause. And in the end, it is a shitty driver who can't speak or read english.
@@kfstreich4787 Illegal and legal immigration of low skilled workers is a problem. Will the media report on that? Nope! As long as you have people willing to work for less, you're going to have lower pay. Can you get someone to scrub dirty toilets with their bare hands for $1/hr? Probably not. I bet you can find some takers at $100/hr though.
@Michael Heathman Maybe you should start supporting driverless trucks. Regulation always enables and empowers the worst companies out there. Ever wonder why major companies always support regulation when it seems like they shouldn't? It gives them a competitive advantage by keeping upstarts and competition out of their way. Regulation turned the once robust U.S. auto industry into 3 poorly ran companies. Now you're seeing a few upstarts but they produce but a fraction of what their competition does.
Everyone needs to be trained on hills and mountainous terrain. I live in the ozarks so my first day I started out on roads like these… engine braking, lower gear, emergency ramp… this guy has no business driving a truck or being in this country for that matter.
Being that he could barely speak English, was he able to read English? Had he been properly trained? A lot of questions left unanswered... I can only image the sheer panick that young man experienced though. Horrible situation for all involved!!!
There’s so many big companies that hire drivers who can’t speak English. I mean an overwhelming amount. It’s supposed to be a requirement to get your cdl but they get away with it by having their own “schools” where they just stick a driver in a truck and have them go.
25 years ago when I started an old driver told me to remember, "You can go down a mountain a million times too slowly. Only once too fast."
I had been driving 5 years or so and wanted to see how fast I could go down a mountain loaded with 52,000 pounds of 26 foot guardrail panels. By the time I got to the curve at the bottom Jesus was sitting in the passenger seat. I made it but never tested that theory again. Slow down there hero take a few extra minutes. Those minutes won't kill you.
@@crynsky wise words my friend I'm just glad you made it down that hill , stay safe & keep truckin👍
In 2010 my trainer told me you can take an exit ramp a 1000 times to slow but it takes only 1 time to take it to fast
"Here here"
@@crynsky your a moron you should have went over the edge. You dont need to be driving a truck or any vehicle.
I have over 20 years of experience driving trucks-
This is the first I’ve heard and seen this video and I can immediately tell you that this was inexperience. His brakes are gone, he tries to downshift, and he can’t get the truck back in gear- this is why he is swerving AND missed the runaway ramp, He’s panicking and knows that if he doesn’t get the truck in gear he’s in trouble.
I started driving at 21 and I made this same mistake when I was younger. Fortunately I was able to get my truck stopped with no incident or damage. I definitely went to school that day. Experienced truckers all know and will agree with me, that once you lose your “foot” braking system, and then take that truck out of gear on a downgrade, you then lose your engine braking system as well, and its almost impossible to recover. This kid , due to inexperience, exhausted both his braking systems and just by watching the video, I can tell how scared shitless that kid must have been.
Bad deal for everyone involved.
Thank you for your perspective that puts this into light for me. I agree with what you said but I cannot understand why did he not start to shut down his truck as shown near the end of this report in the stretch of flat highway after he did what you explained logically? That is the moment for me looking inward as an outsider that I think he should have shut it down.
That said, his sentence is unjust and obscene.
@Lilman Yellow I'm 42 now and looking back at myself at 23....I wish I knew what I know now. Oh how our country has changed.
@Lilman Yellow when you are 23 but brand new to truck driving... you ARE a kid. You are literally a baby driver. Are you going to sit there are say you knew everything the world had to offer the day you turned 18. I have read multiple comments blaming the schools that truckers are coming from now. They aren't provided with enough education nor are they provided with enough experience ESPECIALLY on hills. I am not saying he shouldn't take responsibility, but this was a tragic accident. I can only imagine the shear panic that he must have been experiencing as he wasn't stopping and he KNEW he was going to kill someone. He doesn't deserve the sentence he was handed.
Amen sir I've had 2 near misses going back 30 years and this screams of a nightmare ride. My first caused by dirt in the peddle regulator i rode the barrier till it stopped and i still can remember the sound the 2nd caused by fatigue and it got away from me i put it in the sand trap. This guy won't ever get to live a life again😥
@@GorgieClarissa 100 percent accurate. I drove briefly and didn't care for it. I was given two weeks of class room training and another two weeks of on the road before I was turned loose. Looking back at it now its scary to think how little time I was trained with before being left in control of one of these massive trucks.
Been driving since 2002,and like a lot of commenters said, “Training” is most important. Myself once I’ve got to the top of a grade...I drive a 13spd... I drop another gear then let gravity due the rest, only using the brakes to check the speed. Another issue is this, there are way to many driver on the road who can’t speak or read English, commercial and otherwise. This in and of itself is DANGEROUS!
A lot of new companies don’t do proper training, and run automatic transmissions. There are a lot of drivers who cannot drop a gear the old fashioned way and don’t know how to try and get their automatic to drop for them.
Well said brother!!!!!
That’s why we use fam breaking and engine breaks and make sure we are at proper speeds before descending
@@ryanlowe509 Engine braking is what we are talking about. That’s what dropping a gear does, allows the engine to slow the truck. In an automatic you have to be shown to pull back on the gear selector (in a kenworth at-least) to engage engine brakes. Our drivers that come from manuals have never used the automatics on our kenworth fleet. Based on this driver not understanding the English language he probably didn’t even know how to engine brake. Sounds like the company shouldn’t have hired him to begin with. And I don’t know what the hell “Fam braking” is?! Also it’s “braking” not “breaking”.
If you can't read the " Truck Emergency Runoff Ramp "sign as a trucker are you really fully competent as a trucker because you can't read the language of the signs on the road ?
And inadequate trucker training just makes it worse..hes too inexperienced and scared to be piloting 120,000 lbs
down a mountain.
The old trucker saying is "You only go down a mountain too fast one time". You learn a scary lesson or you're dead. Drove semis many years and it only takes a couple of seconds to lose control on a steep down grade.
If you got a truck with no brakes, and everything you try fails, you put that truck in the ditch!
Exactly you can't help it, I've had people cut me off or drift in to my lane will I was running semi's it's just first nature to dive to the shoulder or ditch
That ditch is full of trees
Actually they tell u not to swerve or ditch it. Training has u hitting the object. That being said it's damn if u do damn if u don't.
Mose better hit a tree than a solid car with innocent lives in it. Take your own loss and put it in a ditch don’t get anyone else involved
@@moosc -- the school and the trainers aren't worth a damned , if I put it in the ditch I'll probably die if I hit a car they're going to die and many more as seen here. You ditch it and it not even a question
Im a new driver and my first solo run was on I-70 east going through Utah and Colorado. Bad route to send a rookie. I think all the super trucker's hate me but I don't give a fa. I maintained 40-45 mph on all declines and curves. To all my newbys. The jake brake is your friend. Don't let the driver behind you drive for you let them go around if they want.
I did that pass at about 30 mph because of snow and icy conditions.
Fresno Grizzly and I do exactly that. I’m not killing myself
S Davies A jake brake is an engine compression brake. It uses engine compression to slow your truck.
Who the fuck goes 40 MPH ON A HIGHWAY?!
Jack Marentette the kind of truckers that don’t wanna die appeasing asshats like the people that would ask that question.
After talking to 3 truck drivers, they broke it down and said he should be held accountable. If he had experience he would've made better decisions. He zoned out under pressure. It wasn't his speed, or everything non-drivers debate about, it boiled down to his experience and how he handled that situation. They all agree the company he worked for should also be held responsible.
Company for not proper inspections and him for the murders
What Company? That Company is dissolved and a new one has been formed.
@@mikeskidmore6754 then why the fuck you askin which one?
Those are stupi 3 drivers u talked to bob. !! it was a freaking accident you stupi retar*
Yeah people dont know the truck's air brake mechanism is very different from regular vehicles. Even for new truck with perfect brakes if you dont know how to drive properly, you would still overheat the brake and make it useless in few minutes. And we know that he was driving recklessly even few hours before this incident. He always already speeding with shit tons load in the back . And then ride on his brake on a down hill to slow down , which every truck school would teach you to not to do that , and clearly didnt pay attention in school . And now you guys telling me he is what ? Should let go free ?
I've driven over 2 million miles on a regular issue DL... I always watch my rearview mirrors, always pass semis or lag far enough behind them to see their side-veiw mirrors. I don't screw around with semi's. I even follow some trucker etiquette like flashing headlights on/off to signal semi to gain the lane ahead of me. This was a tragic accident; but I do believe always being alert can sometimes change the day.
Yes I don’t see why people challenge truckers it’s completely stupid.
i wish a bigger percentage of drivers on the road carried with them that same common sense and consideration for their lives as well as the truck drivers...thank you for being that person
It’s very easy to sit back and criticize everything he done. I been driving for 22 yrs and I can say I was not sitting in his cab that day. But I am willing to bet he panicked severely.
I know he did. But why didn’t anyone call 911 for assistance. He couldn’t make the call.
I have only been driving for 1 year and I do not drive manual only automatic I was driving down a 6% grade (I’ve gotten the hang of it now) but this one time I was on 8th super controlled from one second to the next the truck kicked it to 9th AUTOMATICALLY my truck and trailer when from 50 to 60 mph in a blink of an eye! At that moment so so so many thoughts ran through my head and I can say I panicked 😱 I was fully loaded luckily I drive with my husband and he guided me to gain control back! But my point here is that him being so young and inexperienced and his truck being manual god I can just imagine how scared he was and if he couldn’t put the truck in gear and so many thoughts going through his head in just seconds! When that happened to me I felt as if time traveled over me anyways I feel so bad for him hopefully they are able to reduce the time
While I agree with you, how many warning signs is it acceptable to miss? Our truckers are part of the backbone, and should be treated as such, but people died because this dude is an idiot. Manslaughter. 110 years is too much, but people died.
Friend of mine lost his brakes but thank god he stopped ok, but he said let me tell you something, i was screaming Mama from panic attach when i lost my brakes. So you r 100% right he probably did panicked big time.
@@sherralieberry-majeski5972 tell me how that would have helped a runaway truck
I've driven semis, articulating trucks, and 100 ton rigid frame mining trucks... I never thought this was a particularly difficult thing to do. But then I have to remember my ol lady can barely back her nissan sentry out of a parking lot. Sometimes people really do just need the extra training and when you panic you can easily miss an opportunity that would have seemed obvious to someone else.
That's very true and wise words, (except maybe your lady would be pissed) in moments of quick thinking and potential doom, training and experience is key
Exactly. I can say that there have been times where I have been under much less stress and as a result I have missed turns and exits. And within the 15 deployments I did in the Marine Corps, there is never enough practice in training to simulate the real thing. Mistakes can be made under life-threatening duress and pressure like this.
Or people also need panic training or crash training.. maybe he had anxiety and rather save the truck then going to the truck ramp. He definitely should of done some things different tho.
A 200,000 Pound rigid frame mining truck? Lol Bullshit. Thats not even legal for any Rig🤣
@@q6348 Panic training? 🤦♂️🤦♂️ come on bruh
I am not a trucker, nor do I have any legal experience. However, I am licensed by the FAA as an aircraft mechanic, so I am fully aware with the responsibility that comes along with being privileged with certain important tasks and reaping the consequences from my actions. I also am aware of the type of investigation that the NTSB performs when an aircraft crashes, and this is where I think this truck crash is failing. When an aircraft crashes the NTSB looks at the cause of the accident and then determines a root cause(s). For example, in this incident I don't think anyone would disagree that the driver was 100% at fault, and may have even had the chance to stop due to a runaway ramp being present in his route downhill, so this would be considered the cause of the accident. Investigating further the NTSB would most likely want to know, was this person trained properly? Why wasn't the driver able to locate the runaway ramp? Was this driver over worked? Were there any other outside factors that caused the crash? Asking these surrounding questions is pertinent, could locate an entirely different root cause, and could give you a different look on the case. I believe his sentence was unjust, was due to a poor investigation into the crash, and that he had a poor defense attorney.
YES!!! Exactly.
Thank you. Show me a bad truck crash and I’ll show you a shady company with some questionable records.
@@karinaz8756 How on earth the judicial system managed to convict this man and not the company is incomprehensible. All they are doing is throwing a poor man in jail for an excessively long term and letting this problem with bad business continue. I've seen 1st degree malice murder cases get 20-25 years. They shouldn't be giving this guy more than 3 if there was any indication of deliberate negligence.
@@MissNebulosity because of legal “minimums “. The charges dictated the sentence. The judge abided by it.
@Mike the Mechanic why does every story say “the driver said his brakes failed,” “The driver alleged brake failure?” Is there no way to verify whether his brakes actually did fail? They state he was going 85 miles per hour. That doesn’t necessarily scream out of control to me (I’m from New York). Traffic is regularly moving that speed on the thruway. Maybe he was just distracted and didn’t have time to properly react which compounded everything.
I came so close to losing it in Colorado on hwy. 50 in a big truck loaded down with corn. The truck I was driving didn't have working jake brakes, and I heated the brakes up to where they were useless. The downhill seemed to never stop, there were no truck ramps. Finally I got it shut down on a level stretch just before another descent. Still sends shivers down my spine when I think of it.
Lots of semi drivers that shouldn't be a semi driver
Yep. That's why i dont trust driving by truck drivers.... Hell nah!
It’s gotten a lot worse with these drivers. Younger Less experienced drivers, always in a rush. Just look at the results. Many times the company is at fault for lack of maintaining the trucks.
BeerCan35 you can only say that if every truck driver were trained the same way. So don’t come here and make a generalization about truckers when something bad happens.
Yup, specially foreigners who don't understand the language n work for cheap
They come from schools like where they got this instructor from. Drove truck for 2 years maybe, and knows enough to teach others, yeah, BS. They push people through these schools with not knowledge of driving a truck. Just how to shift.
I went to that same truck driving school 25 years ago. It was 8 weeks long. Our final week all we did was drive up and down that hill. I'm thankful for the training they gave me. Today, most companies run a student mill. They train them for a number of weeks and then send them on their way. I hear some companies allow drivers with 6 months of experience to become trainers. I'm surprised this doesnt happen more often!
We're bombarded with more and more distractions every day. It's scary to think what it'll be like in 10 years. Fully autonomous vehicles integrated with the drivers brain. Just plug ur head to the car and go
Me to
Who broke the Trucking Unions. Where no Unions no training.. The Driver his error lack of training, where more experienced Driver would have avoided the accident!!!
Because we have runaway ramps that truckers use
With big yellow signs with blinking lights that are clearly visible from a distance
I've been through there both directions a few times in a semi, loaded. Smoking brakes, flop overs are very common. You can go down those mountians slow all your life or you can go down fast once.
The brakes failed because the idiot didnt drive the truck correctly on a mountain. There are multiple signs stating how fast trucks can go, what lane and the gear to stay in. All ignored. And he passed the RATR once his brakes got too hot. What this dude did was an egregious error. 2 million idiots dont know that and signed the petition to have this guy freed.
He was also going 85 mph when he realized his brakes don't work.
@@shnappers8041 Incorrect.
They signed that petition because 110 year prison sentence was WAY out of bounds. This exposes the "mandatory minimums" sentencing fiasco that you SHOULD be concerned about.
@@rustusandroid "In a statement to investigators at the time, he said he had been travelling at 85 mph downhill when the brakes failed and, although he tried to pull over onto the hard shoulder to avoid the cars, there was already a truck occupying the space."
Edit: I've tried to add the source multiple times but youtube wont let me.
@@shnappers8041 The reason the truck was going that fast is because of the failure to capture the downshift and thus no engine breaking. He was also hitting the brakes as hard as he could an thus the failure. You make it sound as if he was just happily strolling down the steep inclined mountain highway at near 90 miles an hour just for funsies.
Wow i can't get a cdl job because i dont have 3 years work on the books but they let guys who cant even speak English get a job.......
lolmock25 it was prob a mom and pop company. They usually hire any drivers they can get
HOUSTON TEXAS. IS DEAD LIBERAL
@@maxsands3861, These are the big reasons I stopped driving as well. No accidents, always safe, but all sorts of trouble with the DOT and dispatchers. These companies go cheap every way they can. That kid had no business out there at all. I am willing to bet that beyond smoked/smoking brakes, that he tried to stab some gears as he went coasting down that hill, and could not get them stabbed in. I now actually believe that he was in neutral in at least several different instances.
- Along with - ...Apparently, not being able to read/identify the dam sign. I don't know how the companies are today, but I can tell you that a while back, I always seen those orange trucks (we know who they were; Started with an Sn.....) with smoked breaks nearly every single day. Now I wonder if they changed colors/company names since...
That's right!
Houston 🇲🇽
I’m sorry I’d drive into a ditch before I’d go speeding down the highway
Unless you are a truck driver yourself you can't say that. You have no idea what it's like to drive a semi and be in a situation like that. He has family and was likely thinking about them. I'm not saying that the victims didn't have families as well, but when you are a driver you unfortunately don't think about other peoples families, you think about your own first because they are your priority. The company that hired him should have trained him better or not sent him out at all. I think the bulk of the responsibility falls on the company.
Marie Barnes read what truck drivers are saying about this guy on trucking forums. Most of them think he was an incompetent idiot, and there is no excuse for what happened. Any good truck driver would have used the runaway truck ramp. Failing that, they would drive the truck into the median and roll it on it's side, to stop it. What this guy did was insane.
@@MaxZomboni Except that I don't need to look at trucking forums because my own dad and uncle are truck drivers. My dad has driven that specific stretch of I-70 more times than I can even attempt to count and he and I have been talking about this situation pretty much every day since and the possible implications it could have. He agrees that he should have used the truck ramp, but he also thinks the manslaughter charges are bullshit and most of the blame belongs to the company that hired him. I don't know the drivers on some random online forum, nor do I know the amount of experience they have. My dad has been driving for over 20 years now (all of those years involved driving in the mountains) and I have seen firsthand how much control he has in that truck. I will take his word over some random stranger on the internet literally every time
Marie Barnes First he is not charged with manslaughter. He is charged with vehicular homicide, a much more serious charge. Second, the charges would be BS, if there was not video evidence, that he was out of control well before the crash, and had the opportunity to use the truck ramp, but didn't. There is a very good chace, he will be convicted.
@@MaxZomboni I apologize for misspeaking (or rather mistyping) the charges, but my dad and I still agree that the charges are not warranted. That man was not properly trained for what he was doing, and yes it should be a drivers responsibility to turn down a job if they don't feel comfortable and/or safe, but that only works to an extent. Before starting his own owner operator company, my dad worked for multiple other companies and could potentially face punishment at work or even chance being fired if he turned something down. He had a family that he was trying to support so clearly he did what was needed to put them first, even if it wasn't the safest (immediately what comes to mind as an example was hauling groceries for Safeway at night in literal blizzard conditions in the mountains). Companies and namely dispatchers are the most ignorant people I have ever encountered in relation to the trucking industry. They have zero regard for the safety of their own drivers and by extension other drivers on the road. A company has the final say in who works and who doesn't and this man should never have been hauling in the mountains. And all the video evidence really proves was that he lost his breaks and wasn't properly informed on the use and importance of a truck ramp. That was either a failure on the company he drives for or those that administered his CDL test
He was offered a 10 yr plea deal. He chose to take his chances in court.
He killed 4 people, permanently disabled 2 and injured even more people, and damaged/destroyed private AND public property.
He supposedly had a valid CDL. This carries additional responsibilities that are not associated with a standard operators license(class D).
Pre-trip inspection? His responsibility.
Red tag any defective equipment? His responsibility.
Road sign knowledge? His responsibility.
Safety measures knowledge? His responsibility.
Maintaining control of the vehicle? His responsibility.
He noted a brake defect but chose not to red tag the vehicle/trailer.
He bypassed at least one runaway truck ramp knowing his brakes were deficient or insufficient for the terrain.
He almost sideswiped a vehicle as he bypassed the runaway truck ramp.
He did not shutdown the rig on an upgrade after bypassing the runaway truck ramp.
According to his testimony, he intentionally drove into the slowed traffic to "cushion the impact", instead of going into the median.
He admitted intent and displayed negligence.
He received the minimum sentence for each charge on which he was convicted.
Examples of lesser sentences are only comparable by which charges they were convicted on, and only those from the same State. A Texas conviction cannot be compared to a Colorado conviction. Each State has separate sentencing guidelines.
Since he refused the plea deal, his sentencing cannot be compared to sentences from reduced charges from a plea deal.
well, there's lots of wrecks every day on the nations highways. This just made the news....so.
I am Curious on how the family of the victims agrees with 10 year sentence now.
Probable hateful. However, my nephew was killed by his friend while playing with guns and taking photos for Facebook. The kid didn’t do it on purpose, it was a stupid mistake. I had sympathy for him and didn’t want to see him go to prison, he got 7 years
Because it was an accident and 100 years isn’t justice. Maybe you should move to China.
Been a Diesel mechanic for 21 years . Have had my CDL for just as long. Most people are easy to judge and assume the worse. It takes years before you become a professional driver. Most of us have had mistakes. The only thing I cannot stand is speeding. I never have or will drive over the speed limit. If I have cars piling up behind me. I will pull over to the side of the road and let them pass.
Very considerate of you. Not many do that... but to be honest, where are these people going that is so important that they can't spend an extra five minutes to insure the roads are safe? Not all of them can be brain surgeons rushing to an emergency! People need to chill the F out!
💯💯💯
@Nobody Said You Had To Agree With Me I like your comment. Insightful analysis.. Yes! Lack of anticipation and readiness..meaning no reasoning brain...
Every truck driver in tj moves to the side on the freeways and at least in Cali they rarely do that.
In a perfect world where driver and company mutually respect on another. Some companies force you to speed by paying you less and by the load. Granted this has been a problem with dump trucks but not sure about tractor trailer drivers. New drivers get caught up in the rush of pay by the load and owners tell drivers if they want more that they need to drive faster and get more loads.
The people who put the keys for that truck in his hand should be on trial with him
Yep
Robert Emmett Flavin Houston independent truck company’s are shady man they let their drivers eat it.
@@smzig No. Truck driving companies are required to hire drivers with proper training or give them the proper training. Clearly this idiot wasn’t nearly as experienced to drive a semi. This is exactly what happened with the humboldt bus crash.
Forreal
Absolutely, and the prime culprit is the truck driving schools nationwide, the standards for being a instructor are ridiculously low , with no legal ramifications for rubber stamping licenses for profit , the old system of waivers required you to stand behind that certification legally , and driver's progressed from small to largest trucks , and realistically how can you say someone is qualified to operate under all conditions after only a few weeks of instruction and mere hours behind the wheel
A woman who was there said he walked up to her and asked to use her phone. She asked if he was OK and he said yes but needed to call his friend to pick him up because he needed to get away from there or he was going do jail.
Is that real dude!?!?
@@RSD22. People from foreign countries always say things like that and also they are completely brain dead they have no idea about technology and science They don't even understand gravity.......
I remember driving a car that had a lot of weight in it. Stopping distance I knew would be different. I took it slow, gave myself time with stops. Even with that, I still had one time where a stoplight was changing my instincts misjudged at that moment (this is why experience over time is important). I had to stop very hard, and it got my blood pumping. There was a moment where I thought that I wouldn't be able to stop. I was still being cautious enough with my driving that the worst that would happen is I would look like a fool being over the stop line and maybe need to back up. I still felt embarrassed even though it was only a quarter of my car past the stop line.
Totally inexperienced Flatlander with no instructions on mountain driving. I'm guessing he was running too fast ever since he exited the tunnel riding his brakes the whole time burning them out. Then couldn't read the runaway ramp sign or even know what it meant. The real criminal here is the owner of the company that put him in the seat and the state of Texas for giving him a CDL. I hope they get her before she flees the country.
Probably couldn't read the road signs.
He had to surrender his passport, he's not going anywhere.
Michael Heathman I have been through that the truck he was driving might have had an automatic transmission. Trucks with automatic transmission's in them are getting quite popular these days. (I watch a CZcams channel where the driver just got a new truck that has an auto transmission in it, it also a Jake brake.) My Husband thinks that he might have been Hauling a stolen load of lumber, it happens all of the time. Bless You.
@@carolynjones6457 If he had an automatic transmission then what is his excuse for letting the truck get out of control? Automatic transmissions makes descending a hill more efficient than a standard. I can set the cruise control with an automatic transmission at a safe speed for a long steep grade and that truck will maintain that speed all the way down the grade without ever going over the set speed. By the way most rigs don't have automatic transmissions as they have manual automated transmissions.
@@ffjsb HE WILL PROBABLY SNEAK ACROSS USA'S SOUTHERN BORDER AND HIDE IN MEXICO OR HONDURAS FOR A WHILE WITH A FAKE ID.
THEN HE WILL BE BACK IN THE USA, DRIVING 18 WHEELERS, WITH A FAKE CDL, AND WILL HAVE 18 ANCHOR BABIES!!
At 80 miles an hour, downhill, at 80K lbs of weight, no brakes and no way to downshift, I think it logical to think this driver definitely panicked that caused him to forget to “think” or react in time to get it to slow down by using the runaway truck ramp.
Dude missed like 4 opportunities. He doesn't deserve 110 years but still
@@Jay-og4yb Kim Potter defense: It was an accident
If his brakes went out down one decline then had to climb another then decided to go down another steep grade knowing he didn't have brakes, yeah the sentence is fitting. Ignorance is no excuse when getting paid.
Here what everyone is kinda missing he was sentence on "23" total charges in all, that carried "mandatory"jail sentence and they all have to be ran "Consecutively"(separate sentence).... If anything ppl need to advocate those old as laws,in that state because if those charges able to run "Concurrent"Lets say for the sake of argument,He could've gotten 10 yrs on each of the 23(230 yrs sentence)charges,but if they was able to run Concurent(run together to serve one sentence) He would be only serving 10 yrs lock up only..So why no one challenging those old as sentencing guidelines in that state?🤷🏾♂️
It's crazy how people are quick to forgive this man over his actions killing 4 people because of a bad sentencing law. What this man did was no better than getting behind the wheel drunk and killing 4 people. His case may have brought light to the sentencing guidelines, but he doesn't deserve to be treated as a martyr. Fix this law, then fix the laws that allowed him to drive a truck and allowed the trucking company to get away.
During the mid-1990's I drove a semi for four years. When I went through truck driving school, and after I was hired, I was teamed up with a trainer for 6 weeks. When it came to mountain driving, I was taught "Whatever gear you used to go up one side, when you get to the top and start down, use that same gear, and start slow and use the brakes to check the speed to keep it at a safe pace." Following that rule, I never had any problems, and I covered passes in all the western states at one time or another. Had to cover Cabbage Hill in Oregon one time under semi-snowy conditions. No problems, but I was sweating after I got down. Just gotta use common sense and your brains.
Hi. Thank you. Can you explain a bit more. Do you use a low gear to go up a hill as well? Is that why you can use the same gear going down again. I’m confused.
@@maldiviansun8500 Yes. As you begin going uphill, the fight against gravity increases. Think about what happens if you begin pedaling a bicycle up a hill: As you start going up, you have to pedal harder. So to increase your "pedal power", you shift down to a lower gear to continue pedaling as you go up the hill. Once you reach the top and start down the other side, you can simply coast. But as you continue to coast down the hill, you begin to pick up speed. Of course, you and the bike weigh only a couple of hundred pounds, so slowing and stopping aren't that difficult. However, in a truck with the total weight of a possible 40 tons (80,000 pounds), the effect of gravity's downward pulling is much more, meaning it takes more braking power. So staying in a low gear starting from the top and keeping the speed slow, it's easier (and safer) to stop all that weight if needed.
Brakes operate by friction. The more you push on the brake pedal, the longer the brakes are in contact, which is more friction, which in turn creates more heat. At some point, they begin to overheat and burn up. When that happens, there is a smell of burning asbestos and the sight of smoke from the brakes and wheel areas. At that point, you have brake failure with very few to none, options of stopping all that weight. I hope this helps your understanding.
@@maldiviansun8500 the low, tight gear is necessary to climb with the weight going up, and the same low, tight gear then helps hold the speed in check coming down by restraining the engine through the rear and trans geared combination.
A specific gear will be optimum for a specific hill. Always better to go slower till you know WHICH GEAR to be in. Once the weight gets away, it becomes very difficult to reconnect in a synchronized transmission.
@@maldiviansun8500 So your Truck has 13 forward gerars and 3 gears in Reverse.. if you weigh 80,000 pounds and you have a 7% grade for 6 miles and your Truck has 500 Horse Power you will probobly bog down to 35-40 MPH maybe have to shift down to 8th 9th gear.. Now maybe if you Truck had 2,000 Horsepower you could pull that grade at 70 MPH in 12th Gear..
@@maldiviansun8500 Typical Class 8 Truck has 500 HP it's not going to pull a Mountain Grade in high Gear Overdrive.. at 70 MPH but if you had a Truck like this with 3,000 horse power you might be able to pull that hill at 70 MPH.. All the same you better use a much lower gear on the down hill so you have engine braking to Control your speed because if you leave it in high gear you will over heat your brakes so much they will fail and stop slowing the truck down very much ..
czcams.com/video/Pe42q8ZmjGU/video.html
The new Normal
No Speak English
No Read English,
BUT Permitted To Drive Any Where In America
how about this guy - trainee ? his english is better then mine ! but hs just sucks about LOL gap !
He’s a young driver, and even some who have been driving for years will say that’s a dangerous part. why not investigate the company? Why did they have such a young inexperienced driver on that road.
Well they said that the company had trucks with problems Especially brakes problems.
All they had to do is go out of business & they did
Well if he was to young to accept responsibility, then maybe he should not have been driving. Also no sympathy for the dead. This man killed 4 people.
That's what I said! Held the company liable and we will see companies start sending drivers to get truck driving classes yearly.
@@AprilMay.2023
The Company went out of Business.
No one has any recourse
Driver couldn't speak English, can't read signs, undertrained, and unqualified. And the highways are full of them. Foreign drivers are everywhere now and it makes for a dangerous situation
You will get a ticket in Indiana if you cannot not speak English.
@god uh...no. they dont want to work for 6 tamales a day thats all. Foreign labor who come from 3rd world countries who pay $20 a month will come and do it for cheap and like it.
@@joemanuel222 with chile on it
@god yes god we love sin
@god well it's da merican weigh
The company he was driving for was Castellano 03 based in Houston, TX by some random guy who registered his fleet of five trucks to a residential home.
They guy immediately applied for a new trucking company before "going out of business" aka switching the name of the company and DOT number to a new one known as "Volt trucking" at the same residential address.
This is obviously a pattern of irresponsibility.
Hey WEchoing Faithfully .. Great Due Dilligance there. One news Agency siad it it was Castellano 02 LLC .. I searched it found his name and two addressws and all I found was that the Company was disolved.
4 People were killed and Millions in Damage even to the Pavment ..
So this Dude that Operates a Trucking Company to Mexican Standards is still operating under a new Busiss name.. Might be 4 trucks now .. As he lost one truck and trailer in an Inferno ..
Theres no way to count the times i pulled over and tightened my brakes at the top of a grade , then started down in granny low back in the days when most trucks had no jakes. Never had an issue.
don't brakes have auto slack adjusters?
I’m a truck driver and we were always told to treat cars on the highway or road like it’s our family members in the cars.
You are gorgeous
Well the foriegners they let drive here don't get that memo and the ones I've talked to either don't csre or apear to have not been trained right, if at all and if they get into an accident they think its not their fault or its no big deal. Thats my experience.
Yeah until they cut you off an they drive off
You are the polar opposite of a truck driver stereotype
I wouldn't want to scratch my truck.
Omg, if he can't read english then he shouldn't have been driving. CDL should only be in english if all of our signs are in english.
@R L LMAO no one cares, your people are weak pussys that lost get over it.
@R L *Kay. Apparently you can't read english either
R L I’m Hispanic and I don’t believe that the driver should’ve gotten a cdl with his poor English skills. It doesn’t matter who was here first.
Cory Hispanics are getting it back and that’s why there’s an urgency to deport because whites will be a minority in less that a century. That’s why trump has Russian women come to the US to give birth in the Trump tower and leave, adding more numbers to the Caucasian race.
One word: assimilation
There was no problem with the brakes, he just over heated them which makes them turn into mush. I drove a concrete mixer in some of the worst conditions imaginable. The streets of San Francisco, Oakland hills, Berkeley hills, Los Gatos hills. I didn't care if I held up traffic, all I cared about was getting up or down those hills in one piece.
Wow Sanfransico would be hard on brakes on a Cement Truck with an automatic Transmission .. A Jake Brake would be great.. I have an Oshkosh M-911 Tank Crrier with a 750 Allison Auto and it has a brake retarder pedal that uses the Torque converter as an engien brake.. it works if you use a low gear so the engine is turing higher RPMS./. save were and tear on the drum brakes..
Just a question for any truckers who have been driving for a good while now let’s say I’m a new driver and I’m on I-70 would it be better if I were to use the jake and help control my speed as well as dropping a gear if needed I know absolutely nothing about trucking but I do know the jake is used to help reduce brake wear I kinda want to get a trucking job in the future because I genuinely enjoy driving
Yes it would be better. You should know in advance of taking a downgrade what gear is required, in conjunction with the engine brake, to hold a legal speed on grades of various steepness, and get configured properly before starting down.
@@GH-oi2jf ok thank you I work right across the way from the PA turnpike and while it doesn’t look like a steep grade I do hear a good amount of truckers using the jake as they whiz past
She will just close this company file BK..and be back in business with another name in 30 days
Paul Holland I’m sure “castellano 04 Trucking” is already insured and in full swing.
And the prior owner is out of the country replaced until everything dies down then he or she can come back when the dust settles and be right back at it. This shit would stop if they started making the people who gave this guy a cdl illegally in the first place liable.
in Illinois, most likely using their nephew, cousin, and niece or even spouse's brother-in-law to open another new company.
Construction companies do this as well for state jobs.
😂😂
How do you pass a CDL test if you can't speak english
A lot of bigger carriers give their own exams now.
Miami
they have a spanish version of the test at the DMV
@@Supatrader there shouldn't be Spanish versions because the road warning signs aren't in Spanish. That is reckless of them.
Build the wall!... maybe?
So, do tell me if the EXperts had ever driven a semi and for how long and where?
I'm a new driver and I cannot and won't speak for all CDL courses, but one of the first things covered in the CDL training I took (Houston TX) was when going downhill NEVER take the truck out of gear. We don't have many hills here (excluding the ship channel bridge) but this clip needs to be shown in all classes as warning.
I say exactly the same the true facts in this case and video .. could make a perfect training video ..in Truck Driving School ..
Echoing Faithfully
1 day ago
The company he was driving for was Castellano 03 based in Houston, TX by some random guy who registered his fleet of five trucks to a residential home.
They guy immediately applied for a new trucking company before "going out of business" aka switching the name of the company and DOT number to a new one known as "Volt trucking" at the same residential address.
When you decrease income, and increase regulations nearly annually, you push out the experienced drivers who do it cause they like it and end up with inexperienced drivers who do it cause it's an easy job to get into
you dont have any clue what you are talking about. i guess you think the higher the wages, the better the driver. wage dont make a driver any better, experience and common sense do
@@bjvu9460 not directly, but higher earnings means the employers have a larger selection of drivers to hire, in which case they'll likely hire the more experienced driver over a rookie
You can thank the beloved "free market" for that. Truckers and pilots alike deserve appropriate compensation for their training, skill and responsibility. But when you cut the pay, you cut the proficiency. The Rochester air crash was a perfect example of getting what you pay for in pilot aptitude.
B Jvu you don’t know what you’re talking about. If the entire industry lowers its standards that means the quality of driver will also go down.
This man clearly haven’t drove a truck before shut your stupid ass up
I'd run my truck off a high cliff and make a desperate ("Hail Mary") jump for it at the last second, before slamming my truck into innocent people. That's just me.
It makes for a good movie
you know that's some bs. you wouldn't jump knowing you'll die for sure.
@@qban84 Not jump off the cliff. Jump at the last moment possible to avoid going over the cliff with the runaway truck.
u crazy lol
Unfortunately some people have both really slow and really terrible reflex responses =/
Yeah the reporter pointing solutions after the fact, from the knowledge of a very experienced instructor. But we are talking about a early 20s kid with barely any experience on panic mode. Now does he deserve 110 years absolutely not!
Larry Wayne Mahoney killed 27 people while drunk driving he was sentence to 16 years, got out in 9 for good behavior, think about it.
a number of years ago I did some brake certification testing for a major coach manufacturer. I don't remember the exact specifics, but the premise was to load the vehicle to the max GVW, put it at the top of a long steep hill, and it must maintain a certain speed all the way down without using the primary brakes. The primary brakes typically won't last in an application like that which is why large vehicle typically have an auxiliary braking system such as an engine or transmission brake.
I ran i70 one time in my career last winter and that was enough to strike the fear of god into me. This guy made a tragic mistake but I think his company potentially set him up for failure too if he wasn’t familiar. I was warned about that route from the beginning personally
Never take i70 west of Denver, whoever told you to is an idiot
@@pitbullw2350 the point is to avoid it unless you have no other options. He wasn’t an idiot YOU are just willing to take unnecessary chances
@@GoldPhoenix
Nope, tell whoever gives you the load your going through Wyoming or the U.S. highways below i70, quote enough money to justify the route or let the freight rot
Aside from i70 west of Denver being a death trap from dope smoking liberals, there is no one to come get you if your truck brakes down
It’s a waste of time and money to take i70
@@pitbullw2350 that’s exactly why I avoid it. Especially in the winter
@@GoldPhoenix
Yeah people can freeze to death if your truck stops running
I got a load not too long ago went from Louisiana to salt lake, 3 different routes with i70 west the shortest distance, but I80 is quicker bc you can go 80-85 mph through Wyoming, I drove i80, told them I was gona drive i80, and got extra money not to go through i70
This is also a result of a shortage of experienced truckers and experienced and good drivers quitting the industry. Companies are more inclined to hire mediocre and shady drivers. Regulations, lower pay, longer runs, working environment and crappy employers play a big part in these accidents. If you want the good drivers to stay, give them the pay. And fire toxic managers and employees.
This was almost 3 years ago
Honestly he could of driven off the road. I will say he lacked common sence
The problems with driver retention and shortages in hiring have been going on for a long time. They definitely pre-date Covid and even Trump.
Are people supposed to magically gain experience.
@@jb-kg3vc bruhh. It's common sence to learn the important or basic things before driving those semi trucks
If you try to tell his fans that he head the chance to take exits! They call you liar! They also attack you including calling you a stolen valor vet and will say your DD214 is fake!Say there is no sign! Same on him trying to flee the scene he was recorded and bystanders had to stop him! Then he was talking to supervisor who wanted to stay on shoulder neither knew about using the emergency exit! Poor maintenance by trucking firm but they also hire crappy drivers who can not read signs which they was also cited for! When you mention that truckers check their own breaks while on road his fans say NO company does that! So how is the mechanic in Houston going to do that in DENVER!! He also told judge he chose to crash at the time to save his worthless life killing four others! He lied when he said he did everything not to! No honking horn or having lights on! He will get a reduced sentence and could of took a plea deal for 10 so whatever deport him after jail!
You make valid points @Stephen Young Nothing wrong with his Brakes until he overheated them in Utah the Day before .. then he continued to CO and overheated them again .. The sings say Keep Truck in a Low Gear .. Keep in Right Lane .. Speed Limit for Trucks 45 MPH on the Downhill grade.. Then me missed a gear and was flying down the Mountain in Nutral at 85 MPH .. While talking on his Phone with his GF..
Did he try to help anyone at the Accident? No he borrowed a cell phone and called Relatives and said he is going to Jail ..
What are the options for those of us driving automatic transmission?
If you drive an 18 wheeler, you should know your options. If you don’t, you shouldn’t be driving.
And the Answer to the "Driver Shortage in America",
Hire Foreigners w/LITTLE to NO
O T R experience, Not Fluent in the English language, Give them DIRT CHEAP wages, Drive Substandard equipment and EXPECT POSITIVE RESULTS at the End!!!!!!!!!!
So who are you exactly angry at? The foreigners or White Bosses who hire them?? 🤔🤨
Haul in the trucking company that did this!
@@savageo1343 How do you know the Bosses are white? You sound racist.
@@raulthepig5821 I lived in texas for most of my life and worked with many companies that hired illegals, knowing they're illegal.
And guess what? Most bosses are white. Not racist. Facts.
@@savageo1343 agree!
I have seen PEMEX welders illegally working but they use community college welders to pas as if they did the job.
Shit crazy, all just to save money
Everyone saying the brakes failed. It’s not the drivers fault...the brakes didn’t fail the driver.THE DRIVER FAILED the brakes.
@I Am Sekou pre trip inspection
JoePJack1 it is 100% the drivers responsibility, it is called a pre-trip inspection. You are required by law to do one at the beginning on every shift of driving, which includes checking and adjusting the brakes. There is a section on the CDL test just for Air-Brakes, you must pass it. If you don’t know how to downshift to avoid riding the brakes, they will heat up and either catch fire or expand to the point they can no longer hold back the weight of the tractor/trailer; at that point you have a run away. From the video he had several opportunities to ditch the truck without massive damage.
His brakes failed? NORMALLY,,,,you'll see the brakes smoking before you get to the point to where they are useless. I've been up and down that hill many times with 45,000lbs of freight in the box yet never had an issue. You can go down a mountain grade 1,000 times too slow but only once too fast. The company I drive for has made the switch to airdisc brakes and they're great but still,,,,,,you need to manage your speed descending the hills.
@@pinkflydnt
Perhaps his brakes failed altogether (not worked at all when applied).
In that case, he need to get to the shoulder(right side), not the middle of the road..
But this might be his first time on that grade on that road..so he panics because he watching to see how the next turn will be and at the same time watch out for cars.
@TheRetiredtrucker
I love in the 'in truck video' part of the piece, you see a pickup with a camper trailer whiz on past.
Prolly one of those; you need a bigger tow vehicle for safety types.
The fine art of snubbing isn't taught much anymore...
To deadly results, apparently.
We have a driver shortage. You know why? Trucking companies that went to make a profit at the expense of their employees. Let’s see the maintenance records of the entire fleet. That kid was young when this happened. It’s just inexperience. No way is he getting life and the company has zero culpability.
So in this case he had it in neutral going 80 mph what do u need to do to get it in to a lower gear ?????
I’m retired now after 44 years of truck driving . I remember being told to drive trucks with break problems including trailers without no braking capabilities by my supervisors . When I refused to drive them I was put on suspension for two weeks. Brakes was a lot of the problems, the owners , supervisors and mechanics who signed off repairs when none were done should be indicted too . I worked for a company whose mechanic was one of our helpers that was a junkie , what a joke . I was so glad to leave this company. When I first started driving I was told to drive a tractor and trailer almost 700 mile to OREGON. It was a international cab over 13 speed with a 45 ft trailer , I never ever been inside a semi before lol . I told my boss that I don’t feel comfortable driving this after taking it around the block in 2nd gear and was told if I didn’t I was fired . I had just started with this moving company and needed a job so I did it . I didn’t have a CDL or Medical Card or log book lol , it’s a wonder i didn’t kill anybody...God had his hand on me . So what I’m saying is DON’T put all the blame on this young man , he probably had no idea what a runaway ramp was , like I didn’t at first .
Everyone here commits dozens of driving infractions per day and no one blinks an eye, this man made a mistake while driving and for reason unknown (panic) made the wrong call. He does deserve time for taking the lives of 4 people but we all know 110 years is egregious.
I hear you but also this guy doesn't speak English and he wants to be in America without learning the language I'm sorry first you have to be aware of the language or you have to work a Mexican construction job until you learn the language you don't get to drive a truck on American roads without any knowledge of the language on the signs this guy should rot in hell as well as prison for the rest of his life and it is what it is dude I'm a natural-born American I'm not driving a truck I'm living in my van I don't have a good job in fact I lost my concrete job to to illegals who came from Guatemala three months ago so it is true they take your jobs and I'm one of the only white people working construction my friends are all Mexican and two of them also lost their job
@@yungdolphin9130 the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard
@@ChristhianGT when you can't read a sign on the road you should not be driving on that road
@@yungdolphin9130 when you pass a. Full course without a issue
I’m pretty sure he can read signs 🤦🏽♂️
When I was over the road I drove that stretch many times.. I’ve driven grades steeper than that as well and I would see guys smoking up their brakes trying to slow down their 80,000 lb rigs. You take every necessary precaution before you get to hill. Doesn’t matter what language you speak you should know the warning signs. The company itself should be responsible for every single fine and fee.
I agree with you. A few people is putting our limited knowledge about the English idiom as an excuse to make a judgment. Languages does not drive. People does.
Come on guys!?!?!?!?
Don't common sense play a part in this?? Damn.......
Santos Torres The FMCSA requires commercial drivers to speak English.
czcams.com/video/OGldNpngDws/video.html
Was this loveland pass
I had brake fade in a fully loaded (with weight) Honda Accord east on 322 out of State College PA when I hit that huge grade too fast the 1st time I drove it and used the 6 speed manual transmission to slow it down; I can't imagine an eighteen wheeler.
I have over 43 years trucking, if you've never trucked down a mountain fully loaded when things are going wrong I do not care what your opinion is!
Next, experts are rarely right in these situations! More often than not they are highly educated knuckleheads.
Could that kid have stopped, if that kid had the training and experience, yes. He didn't though, why didn't he? First because our predatory profit at all cost financial system demands trucking companies get as little for moving freight as possible. Secondly, because the Federal government brings in temporary work visa workers to drive truck, which pushes down trucker wages so long time truckers quit, the skillset is disappearing. This means no freaking way kids can be adequately trained like I was back in the early 70s. So that expert is an idiot period.
Next, what the heck is wrong with the courts? This kid got 110 years, now the DA is suggesting 20 to 30 years? For a stupid moment from an unskilled labourer? Yes, the Federal Government classification of a trucker is an unskilled labourer! If a doctor kills you on the operating table through an error in judgment how many years does she get in jail??? Zero! Doctors are highly professional, highly trained, but they accidentally kill you no jail time.
This is pure evil on the part of the DA, the prosecutors, and the entire legal system.
Stand up for this kid, he deserves our support. Yes he should receive some punishment but 20 years?
@@admiraljoy5764 thank you for your insightful comments have a great new years
BS...NO BRAKE LIGHTS EVEN WENT ON
@@Lark_Vivian yes if he was using them to light would still go on ....
Good observation
@Lark As long as the brake pedal is even slightly depressed the light would come on. You could take the entire brake system out of the truck, but there are still sensors that detect when the pedal is pushed down.
Its possible he wasnt on the brakes, hoping they would cool enough by the bottom of the hill to start working again. You only have seconds, yes seconds of good brakes on a grade like that. Gearing is everything. Keep the vehicle speed down enough with gearing so that if you need to stop you can. Loose the gear, pickup too much speed and it's over. That's what the runaway ramps are for. Too bad he didnt use them... they can do damage to the rig though, and it's a call he would have to make to corporate, so its possible he was just hoping he could regain control and it would be a no harm no foul type situation.... unfortunately it wasnt.
@@spdwebdotnet May be so, but I don't remember seeing his brakes a single time.
It makes you wonder how many drivers like this one are on the road??
One is too many. I have been driving semis for 25 years.
The trucking company try to save cost and going cheap by hire these fools, and this is the results.
Lots....
2 many unqualified drivers
They are called steering wheel holders. We actual truck drivers hate these idiots.
I drove a Truck for over 20 years I was pulling a 120 foot concrete beam when I had my brakes fail first thing was to start down shifting as quickly as I could until I was able to get my truck off an off ramp and into the grass shoulder the whole thing was very intense but I had been prepared for this because as a driver you have to be ready for anything that may happen while on the road you don't just get behind the wheel and drive if you can prepare as best for a situation as possible your panic level is cut by more than half and will allow you to be able get through the situation if all else fails when u get the room flip the truck
No Darwin Award from you .. Too bad the Driver from Cuba with a Green Card .. could not even read all of the steep grade warning signs in English and he didn't even know what a Runaway Truck Ramp was for ..
Yet you weren’t prepared to get into a lower gear before the downgrade?
I'm not a truck driver but I have several questions. If you loose your breaks and loose control of the truck how are you supposed to gear the truck. Call me naive but if the truck is loaded going down hill wouldn't that cause the truck to loose more control as it gains momentum?
You are supposed to get into a suitable gear before getting onto the downgrade. And you have brake problems, you should not be operating the truck at all.
"He doesn't know English but ignored the runaway truck ramp."
Dear god. Get your excuses in order.
What u talking about. It can happen to any body. 😠 ignorant
@@bassfishingmtthevlogs4037 - What I was saying was that the video is blaming him for ignoring a sign, then goes back and says he couldn't read it.
Your comment is what happens when you're looking for a reason to be offended. Get off of your feelings and use logic every now and then.
Ignorant
@@GoatyHerps A runaway truck ramp looks the Same in any language Even if He couldn't read the sign he should be able to recognize what it is just from what it looks Like .... And that is how logic works
@@TheGunny190 - They said he ignored the signs. Then said he couldn't read them.
ALSO, if you don't know it's coming up, are you supposed to just swerve all the way through the other lanes to reach it?
Nice try, troll, but you're still an idiot.
@@GoatyHerps he dodged that runway ramp on purpose and you know it I just wanna know why you're making excuses for that Negligent murdering scumbag
You can’t compare a truck driver instructor to a one year rookie .. especially on the i 70
News reporter was scared for his life so he wanted a whole manager
So to read those signs it takes one year? I'm over a year and knew about those signs in my first week of driving. Your going down a hill and your brakes are going out the first day and there's a yellow sign FLASHING for a runaway ramp, would you go in the first or second ramp?
No but if something like that was to happen and you go in panic mode do you really think 95% of people will be worrying about reading signs you going to be to busy panicking!
@St Matthew his brakes failed, wasnt anyones fault. He didnt mean it.
@St Matthew no shit, but he spoke/read english poorly and was panicking and a rookie. shouldnt have been on the road in the first place. and the other guy just said that some of them were closed
I live in denver and drive up and down this stretch of i70 all the time. First and foremost, ignorance or inability to act is not an excuse for causing harm (especially if you hold a license to do what you’re trained to do)just like a doctor can’t claim he/she didn’t know something and then can’t be liable for malpractice. Second, there are plenty of opportunities to bail/slow down on this part of downhill. Third, there are a lot of warning signs for the steep downhill to come. Lastly, this is a terrible situation for everyone, and I really believe a better and more stringent drivers license test should be implemented, especially for us regular drivers.
Good, glad they had a professional respond to the situation. The driver has full responsibility to run that truck, he didn't follow down grade driving procedure. He didn't put the truck in low gear and use the engine break.
If he didn't know any of the signs how did he get his CDL
Some companies have their own cdl school. So if that company is owned by someone that came from a different country they can pretty much hire whoever they want!
@Stephen Murphy This has been going on since deregulation. For example the state of Illinois for years allowed CDL's to be awarded to refugees from the European wars starting in the 80's. Causes all kinds of problems when the driver cannot read English. Not to mention the fact they were all young men like this guy.
Because there's no runaway ramp on the test. But he does Not understand English so how did he pass?
Those signs are not in the cdl booklet for Colorado. Idk about Texas. You need mountain driving experience to come down I-70 and know what to do when your brakes burn up.
@@mr.joseph7806 No, you just need to know how to drive, which includes downshifting while going downhill. If you can't do that, stay off the road.
If it was a DUI or he was under the influence, I’d agree with the sentence. I know in the heat of the moment, a lot of people tend to lose what they’ve been trained in. Happens all the time besides driving, I’ve seen people get CPR certified and when something happens, they freeze.
This is a speeding incident with a 100 ton or more truck. He had one job and fail in his choise to speed he took a few Life's
for this he got what he got if you going to feel sorry feel sorry for the family who lost a member not the survivor who speeding caught up to him.
@@joedirt1417 most of these trucks are governed at around 75.
@@insertrandomnamehere764 Ok most do you know if this truck was. That's like saying some cars have wheels others have tracks
@@joedirt1417 I don't but having worked in the industry all rental trucks are governed for safety all former rental trucks are governed for safety. Most of the manufacturers govern for safety which include international, Mack, freightliner, and volvo. The highest that is allowed by these companies would be 80 mph. Now the question would be did his shop mechanics disable the governor.
@@insertrandomnamehere764 governed trucks do NOT miraculously slow down coming down a mountain. They are made to stop allowing the fuel to increase the speed of the truck. This mountain has sharp turns and the speed limit for trucks is 35 MPH. I have driven it many times. A governed truck doesn't defy gravity, only brakes do that.
I had a similar issue whilst driving an articulated truck in the UK some time ago. The trailer was retro fitted with an axle taken off an ex BP tanker. I was slowing down for a traffic island just outside Barnstaple when a loud bang came from somewhere under the trailer. I lost all brakes on the trailer but luckily the tractor unit had good brakes so I got it under control.
It turned out that the wrong size brake shoes had been fitted to the ex tanker trailer axle. In fact it caused the S cam that forces the brake shoes onto the drum had actually gone right over and became jammed unable to reset and the lining on the shoe had broken free (the bang). Because of this It knocked out all the other brakes on the trailer.
The garage had never seen anything like it before.
So you put the gears lower ?
So,I’m allowed to drive a truck even if I can’t understand the road signs! Recipe for disaster.
Actually no, you're required by law to read write and understand English before you can get a commercial driver's license.
I drove that same stretch for years and there are a LOT of truckers that just don't care and still speed down i70 all day long
Dude, for real. Some drivers just wanna go fast when it's perfectly fine just taking it easy
@@spacemanchriss you have to understand that with the new e-log, which replaced the paper log, you can't game the system to make up lost time and thus lost money. Since the federal agencies are literally observing your driving schedule now, most drivers are starting to drive aggressively and quickly to recover lost downtime and miles by speeding. Put simply,
Limited time = speeding
@@MyWatchIsEnded -- that's been going on for decades, it's called milage pay or per load flat rate, pay the drivers hourly and this makes a huge difference, proplem is we don't have drivers any more, they will give anyone with $5000 a license, doesn't make them a qualified driver though , you pay shit wages and ask someone to live out of a truck for weeks at a time your not going to attract quality people, only desperate and lazy people
Has nothing to do with e-logs brother, it’s the driver. Attitude filled and acts as if the whole road is his, he feels he’s entitled to do as he wants on the roads. So many of these company drivers and I blame the big companies because they hire them for pennies and of course you’re going to get Mr. can’t speak English filled with rage and attitude as if he is in a regular car. I really hope this guy gets years behind bars. He deserves it and we deserve to have him off the roads. Along with many other wannabe drivers thinking they’re hot shit making 800-1200 a week driving 4-5000 miles hahahaha. Silly rabbits. I clear 3 after 2 days and home on the 3rd enjoying the rest of my week with my family. ALL OUT OF A 26ft box truck haha. To each is own. You gotta have a brain for this business aswell so you know what you’re worth 🤷🏼♂️. At the end of the day E-logs are equipped with “personal convenience” so they can make up for lost time. You can change it to off duty or on duty while in a traffic jam and won’t deduct your “drive time” so I really don’t take that “elog” excuse because there is plenty ways to use it and for it to be helpful
@@MyWatchIsEnded Those electronic logs also record speed,distance and braking applications.
I'm not a trucker but have the upmost respect for them! My uncle has 30 years under his belt. I've had this conversation with him a weeks ago. One thing he made clear was that the kid DID NOT check his brakes before leaving the facility. He should've "pumped brakes" to see if the system holds pressure. (I've heard trucks due that when driving multiple times...) He also stated that the young kid pretty was probably worried that he'll get fired due by his company destroying cargo, etc....
So many scenarios probably was going through his head. He could've avoided time if did an inspection of the truck prior to leaving. The liability would've been on the company. Poor guy. Feel bad for him and those who passed.
i have two issues.
First those from less developed countries have more of a short term survivalist attitude, They are focused on trying to do the job they are asked to, and are often not capable of thinking the long term implications. This is not a moral issue, but rather a cultural one. Whoever hired this guy is 100% responsible for this tragedy. They should have recognized he was not capable of safely handling the truck. Regardless of if its an assembly line worker or a truck driver, the employer is responsible for the training.
Secondly, if by chance this truck got through this without causing an accident, or possibly was involved in a minor accident, no one would have been cited for a major crime. But our justice system if governed by emotion. People dying has nothing to do with the level of the moral judgement of the individual. It has more to do with luck. So why is this driver punishment any greater between one who gets lucky, and one who is unlikely. Yes, this is a tragedy that people died, but the "crime" of the individual is no different.
I believe inexperience and fear played the ultimate roll in this tragic and unfortunate event. 110 years is ridiculous, and it's obvious the man feels terribly about what he unfortunately was the cause of. TEXAS is mainly flatland. An inexperienced driver may not know the dangers associated with Mountainous driving or the mechanics of how the brake system could possibly fail due to those circumstances. At the same time I understand the familes of the unfortunate victims want answers justice, and closure. Giving this man 110 years for vehicular manslaughter is not going to give anyone what they want, and that's already apparent. God bless the Families affected.
Yes 110 is too much, but this guys made a horrible mistake that could’ve been preventable if he had proper knowledge.
Exactly, while intended criminals, including those who kill in mass shootings, get exaggerating brief or no sentences. The investigation does not show details on the reason this driver was not able to take the emergency ramp; In these types of vehicles, it's not like the driver figures right away the situation to make fast decisions. I wonder if the employer company was investigated as well. The judges many times are also not impartial and motivated for other reasons than the letter of the law.
80 is still to much????
110 is ridiculous, I agree. 110 is also the minimum guideline based on the circumstances of the case, and that is a State issue. However, how terrible this man feels is irrelevant. Four people are dead, and several others were injured. Even if he was only found guilty and given the max on the 4 counts of vehicular homicide, it's still 24 years. He was found guilty on approx 20 different counts. So my question to you would be, what is the sentence you would consider justice? Four people are dead. Accident or not, if it was your family member that died, how much is their life worth to you?
@@DJCarlitosWay sure but it was still an accident and we can all sit here and monday morninh quarter back this tragedy. 110 yrs. Is execive period.
I kills me to say this but a large percentage of truck drivers I've met have NO BUSINESS behind the wheel of an 80klb. Truck. Most shouldn't be driving a passenger car.
Especially if they can't read or speak English..another preventable crash
It drives me insane to see companies and trainers turn them loose.
Most have egos. Like let it go.
I can say your right my ex felon step dad can’t drive a car for shit yet he’s a fucking semi truck operator
@@heikkidtw5992 at least understanding the signs should be a requirement
UPDATE 12/2021: The young man's sentence was reduced to 10 yrs with eligibility for parole in 5 instead of 110 years by the governor! This was an ACCIDENT & everyone involved agreed that this young man did NOT intentionally cause his brakes to fail. People felt he should have taken the truck ramp, but this was his first time having a brake failure while carrying a load & he panicked while trying to stop the truck! Don't be so quick to judge him or call him names. You never know when you are going to step on YOUR brakes & have them fail just like the Toyota recall due to brake failure! It could happen to any of us as we go to stop in traffic and the results could be catastrophic. This guy was an honest, hardworking man who had a bad accident that unfortunately caused deaths and resulted in him getting prison time. He wasn't drinking & he lived his life responsibly!
He got LIFE in prison for an ACCIDENT! NO WAY! This could happen to ANY ONE OF US even though we may not drive big rigs! I signed that petition to get his sentence reduced. He made a mistake, but he WAS NOT trying to kill people! He tried to stop his rig, he wasn't trying to hurt people even though he did and he DOES NOT deserve life in prison for an accident! PERIOD!
I 👍 agree this could happen to anyone driving even a mini cooper.
@@jayr122001 - Razer I gave you a thumbs up because a mini cooper absolutely could cause a chain reaction accident! In fact, every time I see one of those little cars in front of me I want to ride up on it with monster big wheels and crush it like the tiny tin can it is, BUT, then I would be labeled uncivilized and/or crazy and I wouldn't want that! Anyway, back to your point, that car causes me to want to have an accident by crushing it every time I see it! :-)
He was offered a 10 years deal from the DA, which any sounding person would accept it. But apparently he think he shouldn’t get any jail time and gamble with the jury.
They should go after these money grabbing companies that don't fix these trucks,PPM,piss poor management
@@Paul-sk2pc - It was an accident Paul! He didn't take a deal and he shouldn't have had to choose between a 10 year sentence and LIFE in prison! His brakes failed and he did all he could to stop his truck! His brakes failing wasn't something he could control. I'm so glad his sentence will be revisited! He doesn't deserve what he got for that ACCIDENT!
He pulled over twice to speak to his company who told him to pull over and let the brakes cool down is what was reported...
All trucking companies have mechanical violations.....
The driver had plenty of time to run that truck off into the truck send traps.....
Once he bypassed the runaway ramp I lost all sympathy for his brakes.
I agree but the homicide charges are a bit much. Don't think he set out to kill people unless they're hiding hes an ISIS operative or something. Unless they cut a plea deal, he may walk since a jury will have a hard time justifying homicide over manslaughter.
You're entitled to your opinion but I don't really think it's fair to be judgmental like that, if he were under the influence or if this were intentional I would probably agree with that, but nobody knows what he was up against but him and God.
@@Ksmuve37 i love the way you think, i dont know you but if you was a woman i would be so in love with you, Have a Awesome day
@@Ksmuve37 in a situation like that as a truck driver, you just have to know. department of transportation will tell every truck driver, your suppose to know. him driving pass that runaway ramp i will never understand. i driving over mountains and know where they were just incase. you have to know. prevents you shouldve known
@@ItzDrPlow The issue was likely that he was a young, low skill immigrant with limited English/literacy and limited experience. A recipe for disaster. I still don't think the homicide charges are justified. Hell they made that announcement that he would be taken into custody and charged while the bodies were warm and the cars still burning, which was odd, to say the least.
English must be 100% mandatory if you are going to drive a 20 ton truck on US highways.
He did not read and understand English. In Brownsville
Texas he was tested by 3rd party tester that is paid by the employer. This company had 5 drivers only. He had several opportunities to use run away truck ramps. He did know how go in lower gears and use the Jake brake. When I first started driving my first load was from Salt Lake to Denver and never train on mountain driving and had no issues going down that same grade. This person had very little training and a pencil whipped license.
I’ve been down that mountain many times with heavy loads, it’s not that hard just follow what the signs say and go easy.
Very sensible comment....
All he had to do was downshift...
Bro wtf💀😂😂😂
Lord Hugenstein shut your virgin ass up
Inappropriate yet hilarious .
Just-in Case REPORT !
The moment you notice you lost brakes ..your first thoughts should be ramp or mountain side & avoid crushing cars
Or even the guard rails and slow it down then you can use your gears again . He wasn’t trained adequately that’s all
@@milfermagnet3253 Just having simple COMMON SENSE.... (could’ve saved lives) he obviously didn’t have any!
The runaway truck ramp literally doesn’t even look like a ramp. It looks like it’s basically suicide if you choose to go there. This is very complicated.
Watch a couple vids on runaway truck ramps in action, and you'll be convinced of how well they work.
Regardless, if he'd been in lower gear, those people would probably still be alive.
I'm not sure about the runaway ramp being clearly marked. Its just a small yellows sign and the ramp isn't clearly distinguishable from the highway from a distance. Its almost looks like an offramp or just another lane. Correct if wrong, but it appears that way on the video. Where i live, truck runaways are much more clear than that.
I have smoked my breaks on a hill before and thear should of been a ton of smoke comeing off his truck.
*brakes, *should've, *coming
@@keeleye7225 *wow, *ur, *smart
@@keeleye7225 you are a blooming idiot.
@@keeleye7225 Nothing worse than a person who criticizes grammar and spelling bringing nothing to the conversation.
@@iamtheoffenderofall
C'mon...that's not "fare". LOL! Seriously, there's gotta be a line where enough's enough and people should be embarrassed and refrain from posting in public if you're gonna (going to) write with a 1st grade vocabulary or composition.
I hate when I have to pull out my Lucky Charms decoder ring just to read a few sentences.
USE LOWEST GEAR POSSIBLE SO YOUR FOOT DOESN'T HOLD DOWN THE BRAKE PEDAL FOR A LONG TIME. BECAUSE THE BRAKES GET HOT, AND THEY GIVE OUT. USE ENGINE BRAKE, LOW GEAR, AND IF ALL ELSE FAILS, USE THE RUNAWAY RAMP. YES, IT'S $10,000 FINE. BUT THAT FINE BEATS 110 YEARS IN PRISON AND 4 LOST SOULS. I KNOW HE DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE. BUT HE HAS OPTIONS.
You get a 10,000 fine for using that dirt ramp ??
Actually it's no false rumors. It's the truth. I know someone who used the runaway ramp at Lebec, CA going down 5....where it's 35 mph for truckers. His brakes gave out, used the runaway his fine was 10k. However I believe other things were involved in that 10k fine. That's how much it was. But 10k fine is a lot better than 110 years locked up. That's just wrong.
Why are you yelling? 🤣
@@manuelamootsy6871 He might have gotten such a huge fine even for going 40 or 45 initially, causing the loss of brakes. Speeding fines on Grapevine are HUGE!
@@waznme3920 I'm not. It was on caps by accident.
Up here in Canada in 2018 we lost almost a whole hockey team, the Humboldt Bronco's. Same thing, an inexperienced driver who made a horrible mistake crashed through an intersection and took out the whole bus. We just implemented much, much, much harder courses and tests to become a commercial truck driver in Canada. It made the whole course literally 10X harder and 4X longer to get. Not to mention 4X the price. Is it a good idea? Yeah, a very good idea.
Go Broncos!
The trucks brakes did NOT fail, what happened is the driver refused to drive it properly overheating the brakes. Crashing into those cars was a deliberate act not an accident, he chose to ram into those cars.
Heart goes out to the impacted families. However, many opportunities for the driver to avoid a fatal crash by using the road shoulders and over turn the tractor if he missed the opportunity to utilize any other means. Who’s to blame? Companies that hire and fail to provide minimal training for those circumstances.
Only thing i think was wrong was 110 years id give him 20-30 yrs
Whose to blame? The system. Its far too easy to get a license in the states, both civilian and commercial tests are far too easy compared to other countries.
🏰🤣o:); Ja ja ja
They're all to blame. The company, and the kid. Now it's just a matter of figuring out the corrected sentence.
@@kanamekiyru I’d have given him 3-5 years at max. Ruining some poor early 20 year old’s life over poor training is not something I’d do
no excuse - 100 per cent preventable "accident"
It was an attack
Mike Pinson I agree with you fell it was preventable being an old truck driver and a tractor-trailer instructor I can see on top of the hill where he was having troubles that stretch of road have been banned by most companies l used to work for back in the 70s
Jonny what kind of crack are you smoking? This shit was 100 percent preventable. If you haven't driven that stretch of road with a semi stfu idiot. Dude deserves the max penalties for his actions.
@@kwain8888 just because he us Hispanic right.
@@kwain8888 I feel the same way about every day drivers who crash over the stupidest shit like not giving right of way
It’s easy to point out examples of opportunities to stop when you’re calm, collected, not in an emergency and driving incredibly slowly with the intent of pointing at the runaway truck ramp.
The worst part is, all these Cubans are very arrogant towards other people when they get their CDL. FBI should launch an investigation specially in Houston, where a lot of them arrive from Florida because they know is guaranteed they will pass that test. I believe there are lots of Cubans working inside Houston DMV offices and they are taking money under the table to "help" their compatriots get that kind of license.
I think this also happens here in California. My son in law is a truck driver for 11yrs he takes safety driving very seriously. I think the FBI should do a very serious investigation on all companies in California. Urgently!!! This is scary. 😡
@@aracelicruz8859 it's becoming a very serious problem since they don't want to do any other kind of job, they will find a way to get that license and here's the results.
😡🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🤢🤮🤮🤬
🤬🖕🖕🖕😡😡😡😡🤢🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮
Well Cruz you best hope your son never has a accident if so he will go to prison hope you feel good about that
Another thing I noticed is that he doesn’t even have emergency lights flashing or maybe I didn’t notice them. I wonder if there’s more to this story. The guy looks like he moved away from Emergency exit. 🤷🏻♂️
He did have his emergency lights on
FlameYT SUCKS! II KKTK AVGCP after watching closely I did notice them.
He can't read signs
Can any truck drivers explain whether this type of scenario is brought up during training. I strongly suggest there be a separate certification for mountain driving just like hazardous waste certification.
Mike LaVelle oh ok makes sense I think that’s great. It’s a start hopefully all long haul truckers who will potentially travel through this type of terrain will get properly trained. Appreciate the insight thank you very much.
This was uploaded 2 yrs ago???? I just heard of this for the first time weeks ago
I was reading that it can cost anywhere from $4000 to as much as $10,000 just to have a truck towed off of a runaway truck ramp. On top of that they will also have to pay for the maintenance on the ramp in order to have it filled back in and whatever else needs to be done to have it ready for the next runaway truck and then there is the cost of repairing the truck itself. I wonder if maybe those costs were on that drivers mind and instead of taking the ramp he crossed fingers, hope for the best and ended up making the wrong decision.
Wow, he panicked for sure...cost the lives of innocent people and him his livelihood. I've been a truck driver for over 25 years now ...experience accounts for everything!.
cheap company's using the lowest bidder to transport goods is the problem here
That company will cease to exist shortly.
That's normal for business. Are you a fucking idiot that would bid out to companies that have a higher cost for transport? Pretty sure you'd lose your job fast.
The real "cheap company" is the one that put people in harms way is the cheap company that hired a dirty immigrant (cheap labor) and put them in the driver's seat. That directly put people's lives at risk while someone wanting the cheapest rate of transport is just normal. You may claim it is enabling, but it isn't the real cause. And in the end, it is a shitty driver who can't speak or read english.
The low pay for truck drivers causes better drivers to seek work elsewhere, worse drivers stick around
@@kfstreich4787 Illegal and legal immigration of low skilled workers is a problem. Will the media report on that? Nope!
As long as you have people willing to work for less, you're going to have lower pay.
Can you get someone to scrub dirty toilets with their bare hands for $1/hr? Probably not. I bet you can find some takers at $100/hr though.
@Michael Heathman Maybe you should start supporting driverless trucks.
Regulation always enables and empowers the worst companies out there. Ever wonder why major companies always support regulation when it seems like they shouldn't? It gives them a competitive advantage by keeping upstarts and competition out of their way.
Regulation turned the once robust U.S. auto industry into 3 poorly ran companies. Now you're seeing a few upstarts but they produce but a fraction of what their competition does.
Everyone needs to be trained on hills and mountainous terrain. I live in the ozarks so my first day I started out on roads like these… engine braking, lower gear, emergency ramp… this guy has no business driving a truck or being in this country for that matter.
This was posted 2 years ago ?
Being that he could barely speak English, was he able to read English? Had he been properly trained? A lot of questions left unanswered... I can only image the sheer panick that young man experienced though. Horrible situation for all involved!!!
Either he was hired by a Hispanic doing his interview of they really needed more hands on decm
There’s so many big companies that hire drivers who can’t speak English. I mean an overwhelming amount. It’s supposed to be a requirement to get your cdl but they get away with it by having their own “schools” where they just stick a driver in a truck and have them go.
@@stevep31 If he can’t speak or read English then how can he read a sign that directs him? I think that’s what they were referring too.
@@stevep31 you need to be able to read the road signs in English.
Did he recently learn English? I heard him speaking it fine