TheTrucker.com

FMCSA places Florida trucking company out of service after fatal accident

Reading Time: < 1 minute
FMCSA places Florida trucking company out of service after fatal accident
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has placed a West Palm Beach, Florida-based trucking company out of service after its involvement in a fatal accident.

WASHINGTON – In a scathing report, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) declared West Palm Beach, Florida-based Professional Marine Hauler’s to be an imminent hazard to public safety and ordered the company and its owners, Claudia Angeligue Abreu and Ariel Martinez, to immediately cease all interstate and intrastate operations.

The federal order was served on Jan. 14.

According to the FMCSA, a semi owned by the company was involved in a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crash on Nov. 9, 2021, that resulted in two deaths and nine injuries.

The out-of-service order states that the company and its owners’ “complete and utter disregard for ensuring compliance with federal safety regulations substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death for your drivers and the motoring public if your operations are not discontinued immediately.”

An FMCSA investigation “revealed egregious levels of non-compliance and a complete failure of the carrier and its owners to implement any aspect of a safety management plan,” according to an FMCSA news release.

“This failure resulted in the fatal crash, which was caused by complete trailer brake system failure.”

The FMCSA said that a pattern of non-compliance was noted in the operation of several motor carriers operated by the owners, including violations documented during roadside inspections and failed new entrant safety audits.

“Abreu’s and Martinez’s disregard for safety resulted in unsafe vehicles operated in interstate commerce after the vehicles were placed out-of-service,” the FMCSA news release stated. “The two company principals showed a total disregard for vehicle maintenance, driver qualifications, controlled substances and alcohol testing, hours of service and oversize/overweight limits for CMVs.”

 

The Trucker News Staff

The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Avatar for The Trucker News Staff
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
For over 30 years, the objective of The Trucker editorial team has been to produce content focused on truck drivers that is relevant, objective and engaging. After reading this article, feel free to leave a comment about this article or the topics covered in this article for the author or the other readers to enjoy. Let them know what you think! We always enjoy hearing from our readers.

COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE