WASHINGTON, D.C. (WWNY) – The findings are in from the federal investigation into the January 2023 crash that killed 6 migrant workers on a St. Lawrence County highway.
“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the Louisville, New York crash was the truck driver’s fatigue due to insufficient sleep and circadian disruption.”
That was the announcement Tuesday as the NTSB board met Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Around 6 a.m. on January 28, 2023, a box truck traveling on State Route 37 in the town of Louisville crossed over the center line and hit a bus carrying 14 solar farm workers employed by LBFNY of Weedsport. Six people were killed.
Since then, the NTSB has been investigating the crash and putting together recommendations to prevent others.
Investigators found the driver of the box truck, employed by Aero Global Logistics, was working his fifth consecutive overnight shift and was likely not getting enough sleep. According to the driver’s cell phone records, he had five hours or less of uninterrupted sleep opportunity each of the three days before the crash.
“His company, AGL, did not provide the driver with any sort of training on how to have good sleep hygiene and I think that’s shown in the amount of sleep he was getting and the sleep disruptions he was having,” said Dr. Rafael Marshall, transportation safety specialist.
The investigation also found the other vehicle operated by LBFNY was on the road in violation of a federal out-of-service order for seven months, and the driver did not have a valid license.
“They were under an out-of-service order, failed to show up for a safety audit, and then went ahead and re-registered in Montana to avoid federal oversight. So LBFNY shouldn’t have been there at all,” said Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB Safety Committee.
The investigation also found several state and federal agencies failed to intervene on safety issues associated with both the box truck and bus.
The board issued 12 recommendations, including one for Aero Global Logistics to provide fatigue management programs to drivers.