The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ordered DND International to immediately shut down, after declaring the Naperville, Illinois-based trucking company to be an imminent hazard to public safety. 

FMCSA investigators found the carrier had committed widespread, serious violations of federal regulations that protect the safety of the motoring public, according to the agency.

DND International’s compliance with federal safety regulations has been the focus of an intensive FMCSA investigation that began immediately following a Jan. 27 crash that killed an Illinois Tollway worker and seriously injured an Illinois State Police trooper.

A driver for DND International, Renato V. Velasquez, charged with multiple felony violations by state law enforcement personnel in connection with the Jan. 27 crash, was banned from operating a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce on Feb. 11, following the first phase of an FMCSA investigation.

They concluded for a period of 26 hours during Jan. 26 through 27, the driver operated a tractor-trailer for approximately 1,000 miles, only resting between 3 and a-half to 5 and a-half hours, well short of the federally required rest period. 

Before reaching his last scheduled stop, Velasquez crashed into two fully illuminated stationary vehicles, an Illinois State Police car with its emergency lights activated and an Illinois Tollway vehicle with an activated warning arrow, outside of Naperville, Ill., causing the fatality and life-threatening injury, said FMCSA

According to published reports Velasquez was convicted in 2001 of selling cocaine to an undercover police officer that resulted in serving time in prison, while his driving record shows at least three traffic convictions from 2010 through 2012, with at least two of them happening in a commercial vehicle, though none were as serious as the Jan. 27 crash. 

DND International also reportedly has a spotty safety record with just over 40 trucks, including being involved six crashes the last two years.