FMCSA Orders Alabama Carrier Off the Road Following Fatal Accident
Alabama trucking company Hester, whose driver was involved in a deadly crash in March that killed 11 people in Kentucky, has been ordered to cease operations by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administratio
Alabama trucking company Hester, whose driver was involved in a deadly crash in March that killed 11 people in Kentucky, has been ordered to cease operations by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
, according to reports by the Louisville Courier-Journal.
The paper reported that the FMCSA audited the trucking company after the accident and ordered the carrier off the roads in June. However, the order was just released to the publication recently, after the paper requested it through the Freedom of Information Act.
According to an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, Kenneth Laymon, 45, had been driving a 1999 Freightliner truck with a 53-foot semitrailer southbound on I-65 near Munfordville, when he departed the left travel lane at about a five-degree angle, crossed a 60-foot wide grass median, overrode a four-cable guardrail barrier and struck a 15-passenger van that was traveling in the left northbound lane. The truck continued across the northbound travel lanes, overturning, struck a stone wall, and was engulfed in a post-crash fire.
The van was not involved in any post-crash fire. The 2000 Dodge van was carrying nine adults, two children and an infant. The two children were the only survivors. Eight of the nine adults were not wearing seat belts, NTSB said.
The investigation found that the truck driver was using a cell phone at some point leading up to the accident, but it's unknown whether or not he was using it when the truck departed the roadway.
The truck was on a 690-mile trip from Lansing, Mich. To Cullman, Ala. The driver set out from Lansing at about 4 p.m. the previous day. The accident occurred about 13 hours later with about 243 miles remaining in the trip. Investigators are trying to determine how many hours the truck driver was operating the vehicle and if he took any rest periods between his departure from Lansing and the point at which the accident occurred, NTSB said. The truck was not equipped with an electronic onboard recorder, and the driver's logbook was destroyed in the fire.
More Drivers

Truck Drivers Need More Than Another Alert
Fleets have more visibility into truck health, safety events, and driver activity than ever. The next challenge is turning all that information into useful guidance for the person who has to decide what to do next.
Read More →
FMCSA Removes 110 Truck Driver Training Schools from Certified ELDT List
Federal regulators also are targeting more than 160 additional training providers and launching a nationwide audit of third-party CDL skills testers as part of a broader crackdown on trucking fraud.
Read More →
Hours of Service Pilot Programs: FMCSA Readies for 2027 Rollout
Two pilot programs could eventually reshape hours-of-service rules, giving truck drivers options to pause their 14-hour clock or use longer split sleeper rest periods.
Read More →
Medical Cards, English Proficiency Reshape Roadcheck Violations
Medical-card violations jumped to the top of the driver out-of-service list during CVSA’s 2026 International Roadcheck, while English-language proficiency violations appeared among the leading violations for the first time.
Read More →
Driver Trust Can Make or Break the Success of Fleet Safety Technology
New Teletrac Navman research suggests that onboarding, transparency about driver data, and positive feedback can play a significant role in how commercial drivers respond to safety and coaching technology.
Read More →
EEOC Sues KLLM Over Alleged Sex Discrimination in Driver Training
KLLM is facing a federal sex-discrimination lawsuit over policies the EEOC alleges put female truck driver trainees at a disadvantage.
Read More →
FMCSA Moves to Codify English Language Requirements for Commercial Drivers
By changing regulations on English-language proficiency requirements for commercial drivers, rather than relying on a guidance memo, the FMCSA said future administrations won't be able to walk back the Trump administration's stricter enforcement with just a memo.
Read More →Drivers Put Western Star Trucks to the Test at Star Nation Experience
Watch to get an inside look at the Western Star trucks, technology, and community behind the Star Nation Experience 2026!
Read More →
Trump Administration Looks to Put More Veterans Behind the Wheel
The Freedom Haulers program pulls together existing and expanded programs at several federal agencies to recruit veterans to drive commercial heavy-duty trucks and cut the red tape for them to get a CDL, training, and employment.
Read More →
Putting Mack’s Command Steer to the Test
A test drive of Mack’s Command Steer active steering system evaluates how it can make truck driving easier and less tiring.
Read More →
