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Trucker Suspended After Fatigue Suspected In Fatal Crash

A trucker whose log book entries were questioned by state police after a fatal collision on the Maine Turnpike was suspended without pay, reports the Associated Press

by Staff
March 16, 1999
1 min to read


A trucker whose log book entries were questioned by state police after a fatal collision on the Maine Turnpike was suspended without pay, reports the Associated Press.

Shortly after 2 a.m. Monday, March 1, Michael Rogers’ truck crossed the median. The trailer collided with a car, and the driver of the car was decapitated. A truck that was behind the car collided with both the car and Rogers’ trailer. Neither truck driver suffered major injuries.
The initial investigation revealed no mechanical defects, so state police began looking at other scenarios – including the possibility that Rogers dozed off. The last verified entry in Rogers’ log book was Saturday afternoon, about 36 hours before his rig jumped the median. Investigators questioned entries Rogers made on Sunday, looking for confirmation through toll records, receipts and other evidence. State troopers say Rogers’ receipts don’t match up with a “significant part” of six to seven months of logs.
Butler Transport, Kansas City, KS, suspended Rogers and started its own internal investigation to determine if he should be fired. Rogers has worked since 1992 for Butler, which received an “unsatisfactory” rating from the Federal Highway Administration in its most recent safety audit in 1995.

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