The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ordered a California trucking company with a history of safety violations to cease operations after a crash in Colorado killed one person and injured others.
Monique Trucking, owned by Manrique Agramon, was served the order from the FMCSA last week after the agency declared the carrier to be “an imminent hazard to public safety.” The order comes after a June 11 fatal crash involving Monique Trucking employee Ignacio Cruz Mendoza and six other vehicles.
An FMCSA compliance investigation after the crash determined that Monique Trucking “is egregiously noncompliant” with safety regulations, the agency announced. The Indio-based company has been cited for numerous violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
“FMCSA’s investigation reveals a complete failure of Monique Trucking and its owner
to implement any aspect of a Safety Management Plan,” the order says.
Deadly crash spurs investigation
Mendoza attempted to pass vehicles on U.S. Highway 285 while driving a semi-truck near Conifer, an unincorporated community about 33 miles from Denver, when he collided with three vehicles, according to the order. The truck lost a load of steel pipes and jackknifed into the northbound lanes, colliding with another vehicle.
The driver didn’t have a valid CDL after his license was downgraded in February and didn’t have an ELD in the truck, the order says.
“Nonetheless, you hired driver Mendoza on April 10, 2024, and then allowed him to operate a CMV on June 11, 2024, the day of the fatal crash, without a CDL or commercial learner’s permit,” the order says.
Mendoza was charged in the crash, which killed 64-year-old Scott Miller, local news outlets reported. It’s not clear how many people were injured.
It wasn’t the first time the company, which records show employed two drivers and had two power units for freight hauling, had hired someone without a valid license. The FMCSA says a roadside inspection in October 2022 found a driver didn’t have a valid CDL.
Numerous violations
The trucking company had numerous violations, including for vehicle maintenance, inadequate tie-downs and lack of safety management controls.
The company didn’t have a controlled substances and alcohol testing program and wasn’t registered in the FMCSA Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse, the agency found. Agramon reportedly told investigators he didn’t know he had to complete drug tests.
Asked about vehicle maintenance during the FMCSA investigation, Agramon told investigators he had tossed the papers, saying, “It’s a bunch of paperwork; nobody keeps papers anymore.”
The FMCSA found that Agramon attempted to evade the agency’s oversight. The California Highway Patrol began contacting Agramon in October 2022 for a safety audit. He told authorities his company was out of business yet continued to operate despite being inactivated. Eventually, Agramon reactivated the company but was placed out of service for failing to schedule a safety audit.
If Monique Trucking doesn’t comply with the new order, the company faces potentially tens of thousands of dollars in penalties. Agramon didn’t immediately respond to a FreightWaves inquiry about the FMCSA order and investigation.
More FMCSA news:
FMCSA looks to streamline tracking of motor carriers, freight brokers
FMCSA standing up registration fraud team
FMCSA has rejected 34% of under-21 truck driver applications
Is FMCSA tipping its hand on carrier safety fitness?
Former New York trucking company owner convicted of lying to FMCSA
