The truck driver involved in the fatal collision with an Amtrak train in Bourbonnais, Ill., two years ago had logged 30 hours without a break, investigators said.

John Stokes told authorities he was asleep in his home the day of March 15, 1999, resting for a scheduled nighttime delivery. But investigators uncovered an unreported run he made to Ohio. After that trip the tired trucker apparently told a steel mill employee that he was battling severe fatigue. Minutes later, his loaded flatbed was struck by Amtrak's City of New Orleans train in Bourbonnais, authorities said.
The accident killed 11 and injured 122 others. A ruptured diesel tank from one of the train's engines set off massive fires.
Investigators have painstakingly reconstructed Stokes' activities that day to determine the amount of time the driver spent on duty. "The guy was driving or awake for up to 38 hours on an undocumented delivery with maybe a total of five hours off," an official told the Chicago Tribune.
Though federal accident investigators have not determined the cause of the crash, initial testing of the railroad track circuit equipment uncovered no problems. Some believe he tried to drive around the warning gates and beat the oncoming train. Missing logbook entries, witness reports and a growing paper trail of fuel receipts have cast suspicion on Stokes and established that he was overly tired when the crash occurred.
Stokes has a history of previous driving violations, which resulted in the suspension of his commercial driver's license after the crash in Bourbonnais, about 50 miles south of Chicago.
The last entry in Stokes' logbook for March 15 was at 8:15 a.m., although he
told police that he dropped off his truck at about 2:30 p.m., at the Peotone trucking company where he was employed, then drove his car to his house in Manteno to rest before having to work again later in the evening. But Illinois State Police investigators obtained a fuel receipt from the operator of a truckstop in Eaton, Ohio, that confirmed that Stokes was about 275 miles away when he told authorities he was at home.
Stokes' attorney, Leonard Sacks, wrote a letter to investigators last May saying stress and trauma from the crash caused Stokes to forget about the trip to Ohio.
Stokes gave authorities a statement after the crash but has refused to cooperate since. No charges have been filed against Stokes, but the trucker could face federal charges for falsifying log documents. If he is convicted he could face fines and/or a possible prison term. Local and state law-enforcement agencies also are considering charges.