Officials: Truck driver in deadly crash had just been hired
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) – The truck driver who authorities say caused a highway accident outside of Chattanooga last week, killing six, was making his first run for the trucking company.
Officials from The National Transportation Safety Board told local media on Thursday that 39-year-old Ben Brewer had only started working with London, Ky.-based carrier Cool Runnings Express three days before Brewer’s truck slammed into eight stopped cars.
The board’s chief investigator Pete Kotowski says it could be 14 months before the investigation into the crash concludes.
The day before the June 25 accident, Brewer was cited for careless driving in Florida. He was supposed to undergo drug and alcohol tests afterward, but did not, officials said.
Kotowski says Brewer has been cooperative in interviews with investigators. No charges have been filed in the incident.
