Gilroy
– Drug convictions riddle the rap sheet of the driver who cut
short Sean Merriman’s life, according to the Merrimans’ attorney.
The news is the latest turn in a winding legal battle over the
Gilroy man’s untimely death, 10 months ago on a rain-soaked
highway.
Gilroy – Drug convictions riddle the rap sheet of the driver who cut short Sean Merriman’s life, according to the Merrimans’ attorney. The news is the latest turn in a winding legal battle over the Gilroy man’s untimely death, 10 months ago on a rain-soaked highway.
Last April, tow-truck driver Louis Vasquez skidded into a Caltrans work site at full speed, crushing the 32-year-old worker between two trucks on U.S. 101. Merriman died at the scene, leaving friends, coworkers and a bereft fiancee to mourn his giving spirit and jokester charm. A former city employee, he was the only child of Craig and Jacqui Merriman, known for their work with Gilroy’s homeless.
In September, the Merrimans filed a civil suit against Vasquez and his Morgan Hill employer, Ponzini Community Garage Inc., for negligence. Vasquez countered with a cross-complaint against CalTrans; a few weeks later, Vasquez’ attorney, Eugene West, dropped the complaint. West gave no reason, and did not return repeated calls from the Dispatch.
“So far, Vasquez has denied doing anything wrong … and has, instead, blamed Caltrans,” said Robert Bohn Jr., the Merrimans’ lawyer. “We consider this a frivolous and hollow defense.”
It is unclear whether Vasquez was under the influence at the time of the crash. Ten months after the crash, Caltrans officials have not released their accident report to Bohn or to the press.
Acting on an anonymous tip, Bohn dredged up criminal records for Vasquez, and discovered seven drug-related felonies and a misdemeanor, he said. In spring 2005, Vasquez was sentenced to 90 days in jail for transporting or distributing drugs, a misdemeanor, according to the Merced County district attorney’s office. Less than a year later, in November 2005, he was hired by Ponzini’s Community Garage.
“If you hire someone with this kind of drug history,” said Bohn, “you’re really putting a danger on the roadway.”
Garage owner Gary Ponzini said he knew nothing about the case, and declined to speak further. Asked for Louis Vasquez, a Ponzini’s receptionist said, “There’s no one by that name here.”
It is unclear if Ponzini’s failed to conduct a background check, or hired Vasquez despite his record. There is no federal requirement to screen commercial drivers, said Duane DeBruyne, a spokesman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Companies that send trucks across state lines are required to conduct random drug and alcohol tests; otherwise, the regulation of commercial driver’s licenses is up to state governments, DeBruyne explained.
“Without speaking to this specific case,” which may not be under federal jurisdiction, said DeBruyne, “violation of any of the federal requirements could jeopardize a company … A company could be shut down.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web site, drug convictions bar drivers from operating a commercial vehicle, but a BLS spokesman said he could not verify the information, or name the federal or state regulation cited.
Local trucking companies said they rely on background checks to weed out dangerous drivers. EJ Pires Trucking phones each applicant’s last employer, and requires a pre-employment drug test, said dispatcher Jim Marks. Every three months, a handful of drivers are randomly selected and tested. At Bracco’s Towing and Transport Inc., a single arrest can boot a potential trucker, said business owner and City Council member Dion Bracco. Tow truck drivers who respond to the California Highway Patrol undergo a CHP background check, said Bracco, “and they’re pretty strict.”
Ultimately, however, “it’s up to us whether to hire them or not,” said Bracco. “We believe in second chances, but we make sure that whoever climbs in that truck is drug- and alcohol-free.”
Caltrans officials have dismissed suggestions that Merriman’s work site was unsafe. The truck that Vasquez collided with was a “safety truck,” placed as a buffer between Caltrans workers and oncoming traffic. Behind it, a three-man crew was repairing potholes near Hellyer Avenue. Flares, amber arrows and a ‘lane closed’ sign ushered traffic away from the workers, said Bohn.
“It’s time for Mr. Vasquez to clean up his act and admit his wrongdoing,” Bohn said. “He must be held accountable for killing Sean.”
