Crime & Safety

Sen. Durbin Weighs in on Fatal I-88 Crash

Trucking rules need to be more strictly enforced, Durbin says, after crash that killed tollway worker and injured state trooper from Oswego.

Sen. Dick Durbin is asking federal regulators to step up enforcement of truck-driver work hours in the wake of a fatal Interstate 88 crash that killed a tollway worker and severely injured a State Trooper.

The trucker involved in the Monday crash near Aurora was charged with operating a commercial motor vehicle while fatigued. Renato V. Velasquez had only gotten 3.5 hours of sleep during a 37.5 hour shift before the accident.

Durbin sent a letter Thursday to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration asking the agency to investigate the crash and others like it. Durbin also asked for stricter enforcement of the rules.

Find out what's happening in Oswegowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Velasquez drove for a Naperville company, DND International, Inc.. He is also charged with making a false report of record and duty status, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and failure to yield to stationary emergency vehicles, according to the Daily Herald.

He is accused of crashing into a police car Monday night, which had its lights flashing, and a disabled semi truck, which led to both vehicles bursting into flames, according ABC 7 Chicago. The crash killed a 39-year-old tollway worker, Vincent Petrella of Wheeling, and seriously injured a 38-year-old state trooper, Trooper Douglas J. Balder of Oswego.

Find out what's happening in Oswegowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Read more about the trucking rules on NBC Chicago's Ward Room blog.

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