Thread: Mexican truck driver= 6 dead children

If anyone needs an example of why Mexican truck drivers should be kept off our roads, here it is:

( excerpts taken from 1998 article concerning the accident and the 'licenses for bribes' scandal under then Gov. George Ryan)

It was November 1994. Chicago minister Scott Willis, his wife, Janet, and their six youngest children were driving to Milwaukee to visit relatives. Their van hit debris from a truck and exploded. It was destroyed by flames. The six Willis children died. Their parents were badly burned.

The driver of the truck that dropped the debris had an Illinois commercial driver's license. Now there are questions about how that driver obtained the CDL license, and, in general, how commercial drivers licenses were obtained throughout most of this decade.

"The depth of our pain is indescribable and the bible expresses our feelings that we sorrow but not without hope," said Scott Willis, victims' father, November 16, 1994.

"We still cry just about every day. We have plenty of moments when we still cry a lot," said Janet Willis, victims' mother.

The Reverend Willis of the Mt. Greenwood Baptist church and his wife, Janet, no longer have visible scars from the fiery crash that incinerated their church van and left their six youngest children dead. But the emotional wounds fester. In the four years since the tragedy these deeply religious people have been trying to answer two questions-- why did this happen and how can it be prevented from ever happening again?

"God must have a reason for everything and maybe in part there's some role here in terms of uncovering this scandal. If this story if this law suit can somehow prevent a similar tragedy or even prevent a serious injury or another death they feel that they've accomplished something," said Joe Power, Willis' attorney.

Wisconsin State Police recovered this chunk of metal from the accident scene. Within a week, witnesses and other truckers helped police track down the truck that had lost its rear taillight assembly.

"I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a red caravan swerve to avoid the assembly and then it caught fire and exploded blowing out the two front doors," said a witness.

Authorities identified the man, 33-year-old ( Mexican national) Ricardo Guzman, as the driver of the truck that dropped the debris, puncturing the van's gas tank. No criminal charges and no traffic citations have ever been filed against Guzman.

"Nothing happened at all. Mr. Guzman was not charged, he was not fined, despite numerous violations of state and federal law and frankly the most despicable case that I've ever investigated. Mr.Guzman was not charged with anything," said Power.

According to this police report, when Wisconsin state troopers tried to question Guzman he claimed he could not speak English and needed his brother to translate.

"Frankly, I was shocked. I knew from the beginning as soon as I saw the police report that there was a little odor here because how was he given a CDL when he couldn't speak English," said Power.

The secretary of state's own study guide for applicants provides the rules regarding CDL's. The guide cites the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act, which says the driver must be able to "read and speak the English language sufficiently to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language and to respond to official inquiries."

But we've learned that from 1992 to 1995, the Illinois Secretary of State's policy was to disregard the state and federal laws.

During those years non-English speaking applicants for truck driver licenses were allowed to take the required written test-- orally. Also, they could take it in any language they chose. Tests were given orally in Spanish, Polish, Serbian and various other languages. Applicants were allowed to bring in their own translators.

The Willis' attorney suggests that if Ricardo Guzman understood English, he should have understood other drivers who tried to warn him that his taillight assembly was about to fall off. Wisconsin state police say numerous motorists reported trying to warn Guzman.
( Many truckers subsequently stated that they repeatedly tried to contact him on his CB radio and he never responded.)
"This piece was hanging off the side and motorists and truckers were beeping at him motioning to him telling him to get off the road that the piece was ready to break off, they were trying to call him on their walkie talkies," said Power. "If he didn't understand English, that's an obvious reason why he didn't understand what they were saying."

When we approached Guzman outside his home near Humboldt Park he refused to talk to us about the accident. But ABC7 News has obtained a sworn deposition taken after the accident in which Guzman says he does speak English and claims that he took the written CDL exam in English.

However these secretary of state records indicate that's not true. These documents show that Guzman was actually given an "oral exam" because he had problems with "English word comprehension". The records also indicate Guzman passed that oral test and a driving test on the same day at the McCook facility.

But Guzman, in another contradiction to the official record, testifies under oath he took the written test one day and had to come back another day for the road test. It's significant because sources say the CDL facilities do not allow legitimate applicants to take both the written exams and road tests on the same day.

In fact, the manager of the McCook CDL facility where Guzman got his license testified in this deposition that it would be "a miracle" for anyone to pass both tests on the same day. ( It should have been a miracle for Guzman who had a driving record that secretary of state officials say includes eight tickets and five accidents (the Willis tragedy not included) from 1986 to 1997 to get any kind of license at all. But IL is a very illegal-friendly state)

The end result-- it's still not clear how Guzman actually got his truck driver's license.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?sectio ... id=5591549

Six children died and a family was destroyed because the state of IL will do anything to accomodate illegals. And, in typical illegal alien fashion, this truck driver knew he was driving illegally- and didn't care! So what if he is a menace to society! He has a right to be here and do whatever he wants because 'the gringo stole his land' or some such nonsense. If Mexican truckers (and I use the term truckers very loosely) are allowed on our roads, we are only going to see more tragedies like this in the furture.- camille

At the time of this tragedy I was actually working with the aunt of the children who died in that accident. There are no words for the anger she expressed and sadness that still surrounds this family.

Unbelievable...I can't even imagine the pain those parents live with every day of their lives...so sad

There is a case like this in Texas too. The driver got a license illegally and he killed a whole family.

Dixie

SO very sad, I can't even imagine the amount of heart ach!! we must stop these trucks and Mexican drivers from free reign of our highways!!

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I mentioned in another post that my wife is an EMT who drives an ambulance on highways clogged with big rigs. She's had more than her fair share of incidents involving dumb American truckers running her off the road.

Letting Mexican truckers on these highways has increased the risk ten-fold at least. I'm now to the point where I want her to get another job. I don't want to face what these poor families have to live with on a daily basis.

SIX children?!!! This is horrible. I can't believe this guy was never charged with ANYTHING!

I believe that is what led to Ryan's indictment. He was convicted but is still scrambling by appeals to stay out of jail. Now for the real question. Why wasn't Guzman arrested and charged for at the very least man slaughter? Any other driver would have been! How many Illegal Alien drivers are still on the road due to scumbag politicians? Yes Illinois sucks and there is entirely to many Illegal Aliens in the state!

Originally Posted by ChicagoEd58

I believe that is what led to Ryan's indictment. He was convicted but is still scrambling by appeals to stay out of jail. Now for the real question. Why wasn't Guzman arrested and charged for at the very least man slaughter? Any other driver would have been! How many Illegal Alien drivers are still on the road due to scumbag politicians? Yes Illinois sucks and there is entirely to many Illegal Aliens in the state!

As far as I have been able to determine, nothing ever did happen to Guzman. Couldn't they at least have charged him with knowingly driving with an illegal trucker's license? Unless I have missed something in the papers over the years, Guzman just walked away from the whole thing. It doesn't make any sense. Plus when they describe him as 'Mexican national' and he has been in the country for over 10 years and doesn't speak any English, that tells me he is illegal. Maybe the Mexican Consulate in Chicago was going to protest if they jailed him. After all, keeping them happy is far more important to the politicians of this state than the loss of 6 lives.

This is aweful,and I feel so sorry for those parents because they lost their children at the hands of this guy. They will never see their children again because they are dead. Where is the public out cry from the pro-illegal activist concerning this family being torn apart? They greive for people who are in this country illegally when one or both parents are deported but these people do have the option of taking their anchor babies with them which is one reason they come here in the first place. Drop a anchor baby in the U.S.A. and you've got it made instant citizenship and benefits paid for by WE THE PEOPLE. I feel so bad for those parents who lost 6 children because our government is not for us or our safety. They are too busy seeing to the needs of people who have no right to be here in the first place. Only In America!