Francisco Espinal-Quiroz
Francisco Espinal-Quiroz has been indicted on 15 accounts reckless homicide. This was what a statement read from the Will County state’s attorney office. If you haven’t heard of Francisco Espinal-Quiroz, he is the truck driver that killed 5 people in a crash on Interstate 55. This was a terrible tragic crash that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Very tragic as 5 people passed away in the accident and there’s no taking that back.
The Francisco Espinal-Quiroz case is no secret. I’ve seen on a television for weeks and the internet is littered with articles. The Interstate 55 accident has also been on social media platforms. As you can imagine, people are saying some harsh things to Espinal-Quiroz. I doubt that he’s reading his Facebook timeline at this time but the news has went national, even across the world.
The accident occurred near Channanon, Illinois. For those of you that don’t know what officially happened, Francisco Espinal-Quiroz was found speeding through a construction zone on July 21st. After speeding through the construction zone near Arsenal Road, Espinal-Quiroz chose to change lanes quickly. As he shifted lanes, everything went wrong. Francisco turned into traffic and caused two cars and a van to wreck. The accident was so bad, out of the 5 people involved, 4 were killed instantly, including a 11 year old child.
Francisco Espinal-Quiroz Charges
Espinal-Quiroz is facing a number of different charges. The construction zone speeding is actually a new charge. He was also charged for having physical conditions that impaired his vision. He couldn’t see out of one eye. Francisco had an accident back in 1984 that caused the impairment. Francisco also failed to decrease his speed and failed to give proper attention to speeding and slowing vehicles. Again, keep in mind, these are all new charges.
Quiroz had already been charged with felonies for false reporting of driving records and failure to maintain record of duty status, and cited for failure to reduce speed to prevent an accident. These charges were according to law enforcement that was given in a statement. Include the new charges filed against Espinal-Quiroz and you get a general idea of what this former truck driver faces from one accident.
Update On Espinal-Quiroz
The long list of charges against Francisco Espinal-Quiroz is the cause why he is being held on a $1 million dollar bond. He is currently behind bars at the Will County jail in Illinois. He is expected to appear for arraignment on September 9th, 2014.
Big Rig Talk On Truck Driver Safety
If your a fan of Big Rig Talk or you’ve read any of our Big Rig segment articles, you know that I’m a free spirit. I see the best in anyone and we like having a great time. There’s nothing funny about this accident and a little humor would probably bee considered inappropriate, and rightfully so. A lot of attention has been brought on by recent accidents like this one and the Tracy Morgan accident. Truck driver safety is an issue and it has been brought in the lime light.
New truck drivers, this is an example how your life and career can be turned upside down. This goes for all of us, all truck drivers. It only takes one small incident to cause a life changing experience. All of your truck driver training pointed to one thing, “safety.” Your life and the lives of others is in your hands on a daily basis. That is a big responsibility for us all, one that we can’t take lightly.
Truck drivers, we have to be alert at all times and pay attention to all drivers. I know how precious your time is and I know all about deadlines. Time management is very important for all drivers. Keeping all of this in mind, driving unsafely is not worth risking your life and the life of another. Speeding is dangerous, it’s breaking the law and it can cause a tragedy that will haunt you for the rest of your life. The solution is simple, be a safe truck driver.
In closing, myself and Truckers Logic family would like to express our gratitude to all of those that lose their life in the Interstate 55 crash. May God Bless you, your loved ones, family and friends.
- Piper Britton 11
- Kimberly Britton 43
- Urlike Blopleh 48
- Vicky Palacios 54
- Timothy Osburn 64