INDIANAPOLIS — The truck driver in a crash that left a 9-year-old boy dead should not have been driving at the time, according to a vehicle inspection report obtained by WRTV Investigates.
The crash happened on July 25 on I-465 near Old US 31 on the south side of Indianapolis.
Eamon Goodrich, 9, of New Albany was pronounced dead at the scene. His funeral was held on August 17.
Eamon’s father and little sister were both injured in the crash.
WRTV Investigates filed a public records request and obtained a 5-page vehicle examination report.
Indiana State Police conducted the inspection after the deadly crash and found the truck driver was on the road longer than he was supposed to and over his allotted hours for the day, records show.
The driver, who works for Forward A2B Inc.in Bensenville Illinois, was traveling from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Cincinnati, according to the report.
Indiana State Police found the driver violated the Hours-of-Service rules, which are meant to keep tired drivers off the road.
Specifically, the report shows the driver was supposed to stop for a break before his 11th hour of driving but instead “continued to drive for another 23 minutes.”
A preliminary crash report shows the driver was speeding through a construction zone when he hit the Goodrich family’s vehicle.
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“The whole reason these regulations were born in 1933 believe it or not was because drivers were driving fatigued,” said James Lewis, a transportation safety expert witness with a company called Evidence Solutions. “Once you hit that twilight of your day, you become dangerous. So when you're driving in the 8th,9th, 10th hour of your day you're 50 percent more dangerous than when you start fresh."
State Police also cited the driver and his company with another Hours of Service violation because the driver failed to certify that his driver’s log was accurate, according to the report.
Inspectors also found mechanical issues that existed before the crash including:
- an inner wheel seal leak
- a crack in the tank for the air brake system
- an issue with the driver-side drum brake not working properly
Indiana State Police noted the driver should have caught these issues, like inoperable brakes, during a pre-trip inspection.
Inspectors issued a violation for expired annual inspections, which they’re supposed to have one every year.
The report said the last inspection date they could find was March 10, 2023.
WRTV Investigates spoke with Lt. Ty Utterback with the Indiana State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division about whether the brake problems played a role in the deadly crash.
“The brake issues did not contribute to the crash,” said Utterback.
The report lists “speeding “as the primary cause with “following too closely” as a contributing factor.
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As for repercussions for the driver and trucking company, these inspection violations are infractions, similar to a traffic ticket.
However, Utterback said the vehicle inspection report and resulting violations are part of the criminal investigation into the crash.
“It will play a major part of this case,” said Utterback.
WRTV Investigates called Forward A2B Inc several times, but we still have not been able to talk to anyone about the inspection report.
We also sent an email and we have not received a response.
WRTV is not naming the truck driver because he has not been criminally charged.
The Bensenville, Illinois trucking company has 150 vehicles and 145 drivers, records show.
WRTV Investigates checked Forward A2B Inc’s safety record on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website.
Forward A2B Inc has been cited 26 times in the last two years for unsafe driving—violations like inattentive driving, speeding and reckless driving.
