A truck driver for P.A.M. Transport was charged in a rear-end crash that injured the wife and daughter of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.


Reid's wife, Landra, 69, was a passenger in the van and suffered a broken neck, back and nose. Her injuries are not life-threatening and she was not paralyzed. She underwent surgery last Thursday at a Northern Virginia hospital and remained in serious condition on Friday, according to news accounts. Reid's daughter, Lana Barringer, 48, was driving the van and suffered lacerations to the face.

The crash occurred Thursday afternoon, March 11, in stop-and-go traffic on a heavily traveled section of Interstate 95 in Fairfax County, Va., just south of Washington, D.C. According to a statement by the Virginia State Police, as Barringer, driving a 2005 Honda Odyssey, began braking for the northbound traffic, the tractor-trailer struck the rear of her van and forced her into the rear of the car in front. That car in turn was pushed into the next lane, where it struck another vehicle.

Police charged the truck driver, Alan W. Snader, 59, of Franklin, Ohio, with reckless driving. He was not injured.

All were wearing seat belts, the police said.

A spokesperson for the police said on Friday that the accident is still being investigated and that the report will be confidential.

Larry Goddard, chief financial officer for P.A.M., said on Friday that the company is conducting its own investigation. Snader has been driving for the company for three years, he said.

"At this point we want to express our regret for this unfortunate event and send our thoughts and prayers to all people involved, as well as our hopes for a full and complete recovery for those injured in the accident," he said.

P.A.M., based in Tontitown, Ark., is a large nationwide carrier, primarily truckload, with an above-average safety record. In the past two years it has experienced a driver out-of-service rate of 3.9 percent, compared to a national average of 6.6 percent, and a vehicle out-of-service rate of 13.5 percent, compared to a national average of 22.27 percent. The company has had two fatal crashes and, before this one, 41 injury crashes in the past two years. The data comes from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's SAFER report, which reflects inspections and crashes reported to the agency by the states.

The last time P.A.M. had an FMCSA Compliance Review was in 1995. It earned a Satisfactory rating.