Beltway Trucker Piled Up Citations
License Pulled By 2 States Before Fatal Accident

By Candace Rondeaux
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 9, 2007

Before Roger C. Scofield Jr.'s tractor-trailer crashed into the back of a car on the Capital Beltway last month, the trucker had spent years crisscrossing at least seven states: Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Scofield racked up traffic citations in each of those states and convictions in at least two, court records show. The citations include speeding, careless driving, inattentive driving, driving with defective brakes and driving on a suspended license.

The fact that Scofield was on the road March 19, driving on a suspended license in the late-night accident in Prince George's County that left one man dead and two injured reflects the challenges of enforcing driving standards and trucking regulations across state lines.

"It's frightening to think that people like Scofield and others are out there," said attorney Ron Karp, who filed a wrongful-death suit last week against the driver and his employer. "There are people behind the wheels of trucks that just shouldn't be, and it's becoming a national epidemic."

Through a family member, Scofield, 54, contacted at a residence listed for him in Denton, Md., declined to comment for this report. He is facing charges of reckless driving and driving with a suspended license in the Beltway accident. A vehicular homicide charge is possible depending on the outcome of the accident investigation.

An executive with B.K. Trucking, the New Jersey company that hired Scofield to deliver a load of bananas in Virginia that day, said Scofield did not know his license was suspended at the time. He added that Scofield's driving record had nothing to do with the crash.

"It was basically just being at a bad place at a bad time. It was simply an accident," said a man who identified himself as Joe Smith, B.K. Trucking's safety manager, during a recent interview at the company's headquarters in Newfield. "Everybody, of course, feels bad over the situation because of the seriousness of the fatality. But driving on the suspended license was not the reason the accident happened."

Duane DeBruyne, a spokesman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said he could not comment on a specific company's record. But he said that trucking companies are legally obligated to check a driver's background.

"If a company has operating authority from the U.S. Department of Transportation and they are not vigilant in checking their employees and making sure they have valid driver's licenses, the companies are the ones we're going to go after," DeBruyne said.

Smith gave varying accounts of what B.K. knew about his driving record. He said the company checked his driving record when it hired him as a subcontractor about eight months ago and found no cause for concern. The company checks its drivers' records annually, Smith said.

"We've been here 30 years," he said. "This isn't some ragtag outfit. Our trucks are clean and well maintained. There was no willful neglect on anyone's part."

The March 19 accident occurred about 11 p.m. on the outer loop of the Beltway north of Route 1. Police said Scofield's tractor-trailer hit a 1995 Honda Accord from behind and then hit two other cars that were in front of the Honda: a 1994 Acura Integra that was moving slowly with its hazard lights on and a 1996 Nissan Altima, driven by Jose Marcos Portillo Villalta.

Villalta, 33, of the 5800 block of Eastpine Drive in the Riverdale area was pronounced dead at the scene. The drivers of the Honda and the Acura were injured.

Karp, an attorney for Villalta's family, filed a $20 million lawsuit Thursday against Scofield and B.K. Trucking's president, Brian Kargman. The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that Kargman, B.K. Trucking and Dutch Mill Produce, another company associated with Kargman, were negligent in allowing Scofield to drive for the company.

Several messages left for Kargman at his office and residences were not returned. During the interview at B.K. Trucking last month, Smith said Kargman did not wish to comment. Thomas V. McCarron, an attorney for B.K. Trucking, declined to comment in detail last week, citing the ongoing litigation. "Not all the facts of this case have been made public, and of what exactly occurred," McCarron said.

A Washington Post review of records, as well as documents compiled by Caroline County prosecutors in connection with a 2005 traffic case, reveals an extensive history of violations by Scofield.

In Delaware, where Scofield had his commercial driver's license, court records show the license was suspended seven times between October 1988 and January 1999. Each time, his license was restored.

According to Delaware State Police, Scofield was cited for inattentive driving after he rear-ended a car on a state highway near Georgetown, Del., on April 4, 2006. Cpl. Jeff Whitmarsh, a state police spokesman, said Scofield was driving a box truck registered to Brian Kargman Trucking, one of several companies Kargman is associated with, when he hit the car, which was stopped at a light. No one was injured, but the car was damaged, Whitmarsh said.

Three months later, Delaware State Police cited Scofield for a safety violation.

Records indicate that Scofield has at least 56 entries in his driving history in Delaware for various violations, including nonpayment of court fines. His license was suspended there and in Virginia, Maryland State Police said. Reciprocity laws between states generally prohibit a driver with a suspended license in one state from driving in another.

In a phone interview Thursday, Smith said a family member of Scofield's told B.K. that Scofield replaced a lost driver's license after his wallet went missing last year. A relative of Scofield's, meanwhile, generated traffic violations when he used Scofield's original license, Smith said.

In Maryland, Scofield was disqualified as a commercial driver Dec. 7, 2004. Court records do not indicate why but show that his license was restored Feb. 4, 2005.

Court records in Maryland show that in July 2005, Scofield pleaded guilty in Caroline County to reckless driving, displaying a registration plate for another vehicle and driving without current tags. He was fined $455.

Scofield was convicted in Rhode Island in April 1997 of exceeding the number of hours drivers are allowed on duty and for the unsafe condition of his vehicle, according to court records and a Rhode Island traffic court clerk. Scofield paid a $197 fine in September 1999.

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.