Iowa carrier put out of service after 10 immigrants die in company trailer

The Iowa-based carrier that had owned a trailer involved in the death of 10 Mexican immigrants was put out of service and no longer allowed to operate as of Oct. 9, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Pyle Transportation, which received an unsatisfactory safety rating from the FMCSA, owned the trailer in which at least 39 of immigrants were found in July in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in San Antonio, according to San Antonio Express-News. The trailer’s cooling system was broken, and those in the trailer struggled to breathe as it headed north in the 100-degree heat. The drivers face human trafficking charges, but Pyle Transportation has not been directly implicated in the case.

Federal regulators started a compliance review into Pyle after the case came about, the according the publication. The company can appeal the out-of-service status through the federal agency.

In 2016, the company had 18 drivers and 19 trucks, and in 2013, its drivers drove 830,000 miles, according to the FMCSA. Over the past two years, it had 57 vehicle inspections, 137 driver inspections and four crashes. The vehicle was put out of service in 21.1% or 12 of the vehicle inspections, and the driver was put out of service in 10.9% or 15 of the driver inspections. Of the crashes, one was a fatal crash.

Since 2001, 49 carriers in Arkansas have been put out of service with an unsatisfactory safety rating.