Log truck had earlier equipment trouble
The logging truck driven by the man involved in Wednesday’s fatal accident on Highway 101 near Hoquiam was placed out of service in January because of an equipment violation.
Garland E. Massingham, 40, of Centralia, was driving the truck that dumped logs in front of a car driven by Daniel Johnson, a scientist who was working with state seismologist Anthony Qamar, who was also in the vehicle. The two men were killed.
According to the State Patrol, the accident was caused by equipment failure on the truck, causing the logs to fall into the road.
Investigators are looking into whether the driver could have violated the state’s new “Maria’s Bill,” which increases penalties for failure to secure a vehicle load on a public highway and makes it a criminal misdemeanor if an unsecured load substantially injures someone. The new law carries a $194 fine and allows criminal charges if the loose debris causes an injury or property damage.
The law was named for Maria Federici, who was severely injured last year when an entertainment center fell off an open trailer while she was driving on Interstate 405. A plank bounced and crashed through Federici’s windshield, blinding her.
In Massingham’s case, he was stopped in January because his truck had a bad brake hose and the truck was put out of service, said Jeff DeVere, with the State Patrol.
After the January incident, the state investigated the company Massingham was driving for, JB Leonard of Chehalis. The company’s vehicles passed a safety inspection, but the company was fined $500 for violations in which the drivers didn’t keep accurate log books while on the road.
The State Patrol has launched an investigation into Wednesday’s accident.
According to DeVere, the company’s 12 vehicles have had 34 inspections in the past 24 months. In 12 instances, some trucks were ordered to be parked because of violations, or a 35 percent rate. The national rate, he said, is 23 percent.
DeVere couldn’t say what those violations were or whether any involved loading errors.
DeVere said that while JB Leonard has higher than average out-of-service violations, it has a lower rate for individual-driver violations. The national average is 7 percent, and JB Leonard has 2.5 percent.
He said the investigation will help the State Patrol determine whether criminal charges are warranted. He said the agency will do a compliance review of the company, a safety audit of operations and an inspection of driver records and equipment-maintenance and log-book entries.
The company declined comment because of the investigation.
DeVere said Washington ranks fourth lowest in the nation in fatalities involving commercial vehicles. In 2003, 46 people died in accidents involving used trucks; in Oregon there were 65 deaths.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Labor and Industries is launching its own investigation into the accident because the two scientists were working at the time and state law requires the department to investigate the circumstances of anyone killed on the job.
