Owner Of Tractor-Trailer Where Migrants Died Has A History Of Safety Rule Violations

It is unclear whether Pyle Transportation knew that immigrants were being transported in its trailer.

By Rhonda FanningJuly 28, 2017 8:45 am

Questions continue to swirl around the incident in San Antonio that left 10 people dead and more than two dozen others critically injured. The victims were discovered in the back of a tractor-trailer in a Walmart parking lot. As investigators search for answers, a spotlight is falling on the company that owns the trailer involved in this tragic episode.

Iowa City, Iowa-based Pyle Transportation owned the rig where the migrants were found. The small company operates some 20 trucks, often hauling pork from Iowa to Texas. When arrested, the driver of the San Antonio tractor-trailer said he was driving the trailer to Brownsville to be sold.

Ryan Foley is an Associated press correspondent based in Iowa City says Pyle maintains a family-friendly image, but that it has been fined for a variety of safety and regulatory violations, and that former drivers have alleged they were pushed to drive more hours than allowed by law, and to haul overweight loads.

 

Written by Shelly Brisbin.