Conn. Gov. Orders Mandatory Safety Inspections Following Recent Avon Mountain Crash

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced that following the terrible crash recently at the foot of Avon Mountain she has ordered the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to send an inspection team to the trucking company involved, American Crushing & Recycling LLC of Bloomfield.

The DMV was also ordered to identify the 25 trucking companies or individuals with the highest number of vehicle or driver violations in the past three years and conduct full inspections there as well.

The DMV team sent to American Crushing & Recycling was ordered to inspect all of the company’s vehicles, cite every violation found and ensure that every violation is corrected before the vehicles return to the streets. The same requirements will apply to the other companies.

The driver of the dump truck involved in the crash on Avon Mountain was among four people killed in the accident. The driver had reportedly been fired from another trucking company three days earlier due to unreliable work habits and incorrect operation of one of that company’s vehicles.

After hauling off fill from a construction site on July 29, the driver reportedly failed to negotiate a left turn from Route 44 onto Deercliff Road and headed down the intersection with Route 10. At that point, the truck reportedly piled into cars waiting at a traffic light on Route 44 to head up Avon Mountain.

“The accident in Avon was a terrible catastrophe – and it is a powerful reminder of how quickly life can change from ordinary to terrifying and tragic,” Gov. Rell said. “I will do everything I can to protect the people of this state. That includes making sure the vehicles on our roads and highways – and the people who drive them – are as safe as we can possibly make them. We will enforce our safety laws to the hilt.

“The inspections I have ordered are intended to find problems and eliminate them before they become a hazard to the public,” the Governor said. “There is no way to predict every possible accident and mechanical failure. But we will make sure that our regulations are followed, especially at companies with a history of failing to do so.

“These efforts are only part of the effort I am making to keep our roads safe for the traveling public,” Gov. Rell noted. “Earlier this summer we launched a campaign to cut down on tailgating, and our State Police are continually monitoring our roads for unsafe driving of any kind. Those efforts – and others – will continue.”