U.S. Department of Transportation
Office of Public Affairs
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
www.dot.gov/briefing-room.html

FMCSA 11-13
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Contact: Shashunga Clayton
Tel.: (202) 366-9999

U.S. Department of Transportation Orders Shutdown of Michigan-based Highway Star, Inc. Trucking Company and Driver Involved in Fatal Crash

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today ordered Oak Park, Mich.-based trucking company Highway Star, Inc. to immediately cease operations and declared the company to be an imminent hazard to public safety for failing to ensure its drivers complied with federal safety regulations.

FMCSA has also declared one of Highway Star’s drivers, Ibrahim Fetic, an imminent hazard and ordered him to immediately cease all commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operations due to his failure to comply with federal hours-of-service (HOS) regulations.

"Safety is our top priority," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Truck companies and drivers who choose to operate unsafely have no place on our nation’s roadways.”

On March 2, 2013, Fetic caused a fatal crash on Interstate 65 in Hardin County, Ky., when he rear-ended a passenger vehicle, killing six people and injuring two others. A post-crash investigation by FMCSA found that Fetic had been driving well in excess of HOS regulations and had falsified his record-of-duty status log.

FMCSA also found that Highway Star failed to require its drivers to comply with HOS regulations. It also allowed or required its drivers operating CMVs in interstate commerce to falsify their records-of-duty status and failed to preserve these records, resulting in the carrier being unable to monitor its drivers’ compliance with regulations setting maximum hours of service and requiring off-duty and rest hours.

“Today’s action reinforces our commitment to setting a high safety bar for those operating in the motor carrier industry,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “It sends a strong and important message that companies and drivers who blatantly disregard safety will be found and removed from the road.”

A copy of the imminent hazard out-of-service order can be viewed at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/about/news/2013/HighwayStar-IH-Order-signed.pdf

###