FMCSA shuts down Minnesota trucker following fatal crash, subsequent health discoveries

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Updated Nov 17, 2015

Minnesota truck driver John Ray Carpenter has been issued an effective shutdown order by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for being “medically unqualified to operate a commercial motor vehicle,” discovered following a fatal crash last month.

The declaration comes after an Oct. 22 crash in Crystal Bay Township, Minn., in which FMCSA says Carpenter suffered a medical problem that caused him to cross his company truck into oncoming traffic, colliding with a passenger vehicle and fatally injuring the driver, according to FMCSA.

FMCSA said Carpenter told state and federal investigators he had experienced six previous instances of medical problems while driving, including some that had resulted in other crashes. Investigators found Carpenter also had multiple violations of federal hours-of-service regulations. Investigators found evidence that on the day prior to the Oct. 22 crash, Carpenter falsified his records of duty status.

Carpenter is both a driver and the chief execute officer of Carpenter Brothers Services, Inc., based in Hibbing, Minn. The company does business as Portable John under USDOT No. 736285. Carpenter was served the federal order on Nov. 6.