Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021:
Arizona-based trucker effectively shut down after fatal crash with bicyclists, positive drug test
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has effectively shut down an Arizona-licensed truck driver after he was involved in a fatal collision with a group of bicyclists on Dec. 10.
Trucker Jordan A. Barson was employed by RoadRunner Transport AZ, a three-truck carrier based in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
According to FMCSA’s shutdown order, Barson was driving on U.S. 95 in Clark County, Nevada, when he struck seven bicyclists and the riders’ escort vehicle from the rear. Five bicyclists were pronounced dead at the scene, and another bicyclist and the driver of the escort vehicle received incapacitating injuries and were transported to a hospital, the agency adds.
Barson was tested by Nevada Highway Patrol officers for controlled substances and was found positive for amphetamine, and – at a level almost 10 times the legal limit permitted by Nevada state law – methamphetamine.
He was charged by the state with five counts of driving under the influence resulting in death, one count of driving under the influence resulting in substantial bodily harm, five counts of reckless driving resulting in death, and one count of reckless driving resulting in substantial bodily harm.
A subsequent investigation of RoadRunner Transport AZ found that neither the carrier nor Barson maintained drivers’ records-of-duty status as required by federal regulations.
