Driver in Fatal Truck Crash Cited for Failing to Rest

Maryland State Police are investigating whether driver fatigue played a role in Thursday's highway accident in Bethesda in which a tractor-trailer overturned on the Capital Beltway, sending its load of wood fencing crashing down on Interstate 270 below and killing one man and injuring three people.

Francois Veilleux was charged late Thursday with negligent driving and violating two federal rules that regulate how many hours long-haul drivers can work without rest. He could be fined $280 for each violation.

Capt. N.W. Dofflemyer, who heads enforcement of trucking regulations, said yesterday that the rig's logbook, provided to police by Veilleux, 23, showed that the driver had been behind the wheel for 16 hours without rest when his tractor-trailer overturned about 8:45 a.m. Thursday. Federal regulations require that drivers rest after 11 hours of driving, Dofflemyer said.

"According to his logbook, he drove 16 hours," Dofflemyer said. "He was honest about it. He wasn't hiding it."

Douglas M. Ely, 47, of the District, a vice president and assistant general counsel at Marriott International Inc., was killed after debris hit his car, which was also struck by another car, as both were heading north on I-270 under the Beltway.

The accident tied up the two highways for hours and wreaked havoc with traffic in the region throughout the day.

Dofflemyer said it does not appear that the load of fencing on the tractor-trailer was improperly secured or that the rainy weather played a role.

Veilleux, who works for a family-run trucking business headed by his father, Mario Veilleux, was uninjured and flew home Thursday night to a suburb of Montreal, his brother Patrick said yesterday. Mario Veilleux, president of the 14-year-old trucking firm, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Patrick Veilleux said that his brother "was very ashamed that someone has been killed in the accident. [He] is very upset about that. . . . He felt terrible that someone was killed, a father was killed.

"We accept that there is an accident, but Francois said he did not go too fast, he was not sleeping, it was definitely only an accident, and it is terrible that there are other people involved," he said. "It is very difficult for us right now."

He said the company, which has 14 trucks and 14 drivers, had few blemishes on its record.

Witnesses told investigators Thursday that it appeared that the tractor-trailer's load of fences may have shifted as the vehicle rounded a section of the Beltway known as "the big curve." The driver appeared unable to regain control, and the truck overturned.

State police said it will take several weeks to reconstruct the incident and make a report to Montgomery County State's Attorney Douglas F. Gansler (D), who will decide whether to prosecute the case. Gansler said yesterday that it was "too early in the process to know what had happened."

Many driving violations are misdemeanors and do not involve large penalties because the state does not have a negligent homicide statute, which could carry stiffer penalties, he said.