Truck driver gets prison for vehicular homicide

A truck driver recently was sentenced to two years in prison and two years supervised release for his role in a Pennsylvania truck crash that killed two individuals, according to the Department of Transportation inspector general’s office.

Carlos Aguirre-Giraldo was sentenced March 7 in state court in Easton, Pa., following his January conviction of vehicular homicide and charges related to hours-of-service violations, DOT-OIT says. Aguirre-Giraldo also was convicted of two counts of involuntary manslaughter and five counts of reckless endangerment.

According to testimony at trial, Aguirre-Giraldo — a truck driver for Industrias Suarez Sa Inc. of Clifton, N.J. — was driving on Interstate 78 near Allentown on Dec. 27, 2005, when his truck crossed the median, struck a passenger vehicle and killed the two occupants, including a 21-year-old veteran of the Iraq war.

The case was investigated by DOT-OIG, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.