The owner of a Maine-based trucking company denies his firm is the subject of an ongoing investigation into a COVID-19 outbreak that has sickened more than 20 employees, calling it “old news.”
“It’s over and done with,” Bruce Sargent, owner of Falcon Transportation of Presque Isle, Maine, told FreightWaves. “There’s nothing to investigate. This is old news.”
However, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention disputes Sargent’s claims, stating the agency “has an open outbreak investigation associated with Falcon Transportation.”
“The ongoing investigation involves 23 cases,” Maine CDC spokesperson Robert Long told FreightWaves. “An outbreak investigation remains open until 14 days pass without a new case.”
The Maine CDC opened an outbreak investigation into Falcon Transportation on Jan. 8 after 18 confirmed cases were reported at the trucking company’s headquarters. That number later jumped to 23.
Sargent said he has been in contact with the agency every day about the COVID outbreak, which reportedly only affected the office staff. None of the company’s truck drivers have tested positive for the virus, he maintains.
“They’re all back to work — everybody’s back in the office,” Sargent said.
Falcon, which Sargent founded in 2015, has 14 truck drivers and the same number of power units, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration SAFER website. The company, which moves dry and refrigerated freight, also has a number of leased owner-operators.
Sargent also owns Blue Diamond Transportation, a division of Falcon, which is also headquartered in Presque Isle. The latest FMCSA data states the company has 275 power units and about the same number of drivers as well as a number of owner-operators leased to the carrier.
“We tell them [Maine CDC] what’s going on and that’s the end of it,” Sargent told FreightWaves. “There’s no investigation.”
If you have a news tip, click here. Your name will not be used in an article without your permission.
Click for more articles by Clarissa Hawes.
Truckers risk exposure to coronavirus to deliver critical medical and food supplies
Trucker wrestles with next steps after COVID-19 workers’ compensation denial
Truck driver sacrifices home time to protect family amid COVID-19 pandemic
