FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will investigate the trucking company that employed the driver accused of causing a Florida Turnpike crash in Fort Pierce that killed three people last week.
WATCH BELOW: "White Hawk has violated the ‘unsafe driving’ category 9 times," expert James Lewis tells WPTV
“He’s going to be in prison for a long time. But we also got to look at the company," DeSantis said.
Authorities expect the semi-truck driver, Harjinder Singh, to return to Florida on Thursday. DeSantis said Singh will face three counts of vehicular homicide in connection with the Aug. 12 crash.
"This was avoidable. This should have never happened," DeSantis said.
DeSantis said a federal investigation revealed Singh allegedly failed both an English test and a road sign exam. He questioned the role of Singh’s employer, White Hawk Carriers Inc.
"The company put him in there? Did the company not look to see whether he could speak English?" DeSantis said.
Transportation expert James Lewis said federal records show a long list of safety problems for White Hawk Carriers.
"A very egregious group of violations," Lewis said.
WATCH PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Driver will be extradited back to Florida on Thursday
Data from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration show more than 80 violations for the company over the past two years.
Most notably, the U.S. Department of Transportation downgraded the company’s credentials the same day as the crash, restricting it to operate only in California.
"Ironically, on the date of this crash that truck should not have been in Florida or any other state except for California," Lewis said.
Lewis detailed further problems in the company’s safety record.
"In the past two years, with only 8 trucks they've had 47 inspections with 11 of those, or 23.4%, placed out of service for major violations. Regarding their drivers, they've had 67 driver inspections with 9 of those, or 13.4% placed out of service," Lewis said.
But Lewis went on to find even more violations.
WATCH: Harjinder Singh appears at extradition hearing
"White Hawk has violated the ‘unsafe driving’ category 9 times. They've been caught 19 times with hours-of-service violations, including 10 false driver log reports and 3 driving over allowed hours," Lewis said. "They've had a driver caught driving with a suspended CDL; one for not having the proper endorsements on their license (air brake restriction), and one for driving while formally disqualified by DOT.”
Driving while disqualified Lewis said is an “absolutely huge,” violation and he also noticed “a bunch of speeding violations.”
When asked about the fact federal agents say Singh failed English Proficiency tests, Lewis said that is a requirement for truckers to receive their CDLs. But a requirement the DOT only began rolling out in May.
“It was relaxed about 13 years ago, and only recently, under the new administration was it reemphasized,” said Lewis.
WPTV's calls to White Hawk Carriers went unanswered and the company is now listed online as "permanently closed."
Read more of WPTV's coverage below:
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