INDIANAPOLIS — A preliminary crash report obtained by WRTV Investigates blames a deadly July 25 crash on I-465 on a semi-truck driver’s “unsafe speed” in a construction zone.
Eamon Goodrich, 9, of New Albany, Indiana was pronounced dead at the scene. He was a student at Mount Tabor Elementary School.
According to a preliminary crash report, the crash happened in a construction zone on Indy’s south side.
The semi-truck driver told Indiana State Police he was on I-465 eastbound, but traffic in front of him slowed down.
“(The semi driver) stated that he swerved and almost hit a car so he then slammed on the brakes because he was about to hit a car,” read the ISP crash report. “He stated that his trailer then went around him. He stated that he didn’t remember what car he hit.”
According to the crash report, the semi-truck driver hit several vehicles including a Honda Civic driven by Chris Goodrich of New Albany.
Chris Goodrich and his children were coming back from spending time with family in Michigan, according to a family friend.
Chris Goodrich was sent to the hospital following the crash with serious injuries.
Both of his children were in the back seat. His 5-year old daughter Brynn suffered minor injuries.
Eamon Goodrich, 9, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Our hearts are broken from the loss of our sweet, intelligent, compassionate boy," the Goodrich family said in a statement to WRTV. "We are thankful for the love and support of family, friends, and neighbors as we learn to navigate a world without Eamon."
The crash report also listed "following too closely" as a factor in the crash.
The semi-truck driver was taken to Eskenazi Hospital for a blood draw. The results were not released as part of the preliminary crash report.
According to Indiana State Police, the semi-truck driver works for Forward A2B Inc.
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.
“These directly point to the safety culture of this company,” said James Lewis, a transportation safety expert witness with a company called Evidence Solutions. “I would say it’s very unsafe, unsatisfactory.”
Lewis is not involved in the investigation of the I-465 crash. WRTV Investigates asked him to review the company’s safety record.
“I investigate truck crashes,” said Lewis. “I work for either the defense or the plaintiff, whichever contacts us.”
The company’s Vehicle Out of Service rate is 50%, which is worse than the national average of 21%.
Lewis said 50% means half the time inspectors are finding things that are serious enough that the vehicle needs to be taken off the road.
In its initial news release about the crash, Indiana State Police also mentioned Hours of Service might have played a role in the I-465 crash.
Hours of Service are federal regulations that specify driving and rest time and are meant to reduce fatigue-related crashes.
“Investigators believe excessive speed by the semi driver played a role, as well as non-compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Regulations allotted hours of service,” Indiana State Police said in a news release on July 25.
WRTV Investigates checked Forward A2B Inc’s safety record on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration website and found the company had 14 Hours of Service violations over the past two years.
“To have that many is an astronomical number,” said Lewis.
Examples of Hours of Service violations for Forward A2B Inc include:
- Operating a Commercial Motor Vehicle while ill or fatigued
- False report of drivers record of duty status
- No drivers record of duty status
“No drivers record of duty status means they had no log book at all,” said Lewis. “That means they had no electronic source and they didn’t have a paper backup. That’s huge.”
The preliminary crash report does not mention Hours of Service.
WRTV Investigates is working to obtain the results of the truck inspection report to see if Hours of Service played a role in this crash.
Federal records show Forward A2B Inc has had 10 crashes in the last two years, two of them involving injuries. However, the records do not indicate who was at fault in these crashes.
WRTV Investigates called and emailed Forward A2B Inc and the person who answered told us a manager would call us back, but we have not heard anything.
No criminal charges have been filed against the truck driver.
The crash is still under investigation, so it has not yet been forwarded to the Marion County prosecutor for review.
