Beltway Trucker Piled Up Citations

Between August 1975 and July 2004, Scofield was cited 11 times for speeding in several states and convicted eight times, the most recent when he was convicted of driving more than 20 mph over the speed limit on July 1, 2004, in Virginia, court records show.

Karp, the attorney for the Villalta family, called Scofield's record "appalling." He said the accident has devastated Villalta's wife, Rosa, left to care for the couple's 3- and 5-year-old children by herself.

"She has nowhere to turn now," Karp said. "And to think that all this could have been avoided if someone did not allow Scofield to get behind the wheel."

Asked for details about B.K.'s background check on Scofield, Smith said in a phone interview last week that "privacy laws" bar the company from checking drivers' records beyond "18 to 24 months." He added that even then, a check in one state might not reveal violations elsewhere.

During the interview in Newfield, Smith said B.K. was only aware of a speeding ticket Scofield received while "driving his own personal vehicle" in Virginia last year. He said Scofield's license was suspended because he failed to appear for a court date because the notice about the speeding citation was inadvertently sent to his ex-wife's address.

In the phone interview Thursday, Smith said B.K. Trucking's insurer notified him that Scofield had been cited for speeding on Nov. 25 in Connecticut.

In the Beltway accident, Scofield was initially charged with several traffic violations, including reckless driving and driving on a suspended license. Since then, state and federal authorities have begun separate investigations and are considering whether to charge him with vehicular homicide, said 1st Sgt. Russell Newell, a Maryland State Police spokesman.

Maryland authorities said Scofield had been driving for several hours and might have been fatigued the day of the crash. Federal law restricts how many consecutive hours a day and how many hours a week a driver can work.

Smith said Scofield had a 12-hour break between driving runs before the Beltway accident. He said that Scofield was caught off guard because the driver of the Acura might have been moving too slowly. Smith said B.K. has been contacted by several witnesses who said the Acura, Honda and Nissan were "parked in the middle of the highway."

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.