Truck Company In Fatal Bus Crash Was In 8 Crashes In 2 Years

MOUNT OLIVE, NJ — The trucking company involved in Thursday's fatal school bus crash has been involved in eight crashes in the past two years, including five crashes with injuries, federal records show. None of the crashes before Thursday were fatal.

Mendez Trucking of Belleville currently has 41 trucks and 41 drivers, and has been issued 247 violations since May 2016, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Most of those violations were for vehicle maintenance, like broken lights, falling cargo, or carrying more weight than the trucks should. Five were for speeding.

A representative for the company did not answer Patch's phone call Thursday morning.

No drivers have been issued drug or alcohol violations, but two were issued "driver fitness" violations. Neither of those violations were considered acute or critical.

The company's out-of-service rate (a measure of how often trucks have to be taken off the road following more serious violations) is 37.9 percent, nearly double the national average of 20.7 percent. The driver out-of-service rate is much lower than the national average, however; Mendez's driver out-of-service rate is .8 percent, while the national rate is 5.5 percent.

A Mendez-owned truck with the same license plane number as the one photographed at Thursday's crash site has been involved in a crash before, records show. On July 11, 2016, the truck was involved in a single-car crash on the Turnpike in Newark. The driver, a 33-year-old from New York, was injured and the truck had to be towed away from the scene. No violations were issued for that crash.

Ten violations have been issued to the truck in the past two years, half of which required the truck to be taken out of service.

The dump truck's role in the fatal crash is unclear as of Friday morning. Authorities have not said who, if anyone, was at fault for the crash, but media outlets have reported that investigators are considering the possibility the bus driver was attempting to make an illegal U-turn across lanes of traffic when the dump truck slammed into it. Both drivers are reportedly cooperating with investigators.

Read More:

• Was School Bus Trying To Make Illegal U-Turn Before Rt. 80 Crash?

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• Memorial Created At East Brook Middle School Following Deaths
• Paramus Student Recounts Chaotic Bus Crash Scene
• Community Starts #ParamusStrong Hashtag In Wake Of Fatal Crash
• Paramus District Cancels Trips Following Fatal Crash

Image via YouTube screen shot