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4 • December 15-31, 2020 Nation<br />
THETRUCKER.COM<br />
Wrong-way tractor-trailer collides with oncoming<br />
trucker on Oregon interstate, arrested on DUI charges<br />
USPS 972<br />
Volume 33, Number 24<br />
December 15-31, 2020<br />
C<br />
s<br />
THE TRUCKER NEWS SERVICES<br />
CO<strong>TT</strong>AGE GROVE, Ore. — The operator<br />
of a 2020 International tractor-trailer<br />
was arrested Sunday, Nov. 22, after driving<br />
the wrong way on Interstate 5 in Oregon<br />
and crashing into another rig, according to<br />
a statement released by the Oregon State<br />
Police.<br />
At about 1:37 a.m. Nov. 22, the agency<br />
received reports of a commercial motor vehicle<br />
traveling north in the southbound lanes<br />
of I-5 near milepost 163. According to the<br />
report, an officer from the Cottage Grove<br />
Police Department located and attempted to<br />
stop the tractor-trailer, driven by Tyler Stafford,<br />
53, of Shelbyville, Texas; however,<br />
Stafford attempted to elude law enforcement<br />
by pulling onto the shoulder and continued<br />
northbound along the interstate.<br />
Near milepost 173, Stafford’s vehicle<br />
crashed into a southbound 2019 Volvo<br />
tractor-trailer, operated by Daryl Rickman,<br />
53, of Portland, Oregon. Stafford’s rig then<br />
crashed into the concrete barrier and burst<br />
into flames.<br />
Stafford attempted to flee the scene on<br />
foot but was apprehended by an officer<br />
from the Cottage Grove Police Department.<br />
Stafford was arrested for multiple charges<br />
including driving under the influence,<br />
reckless driving and reckless endangering.<br />
The report notes that neither Stafford<br />
Courtesy: Oregon State Police<br />
This 2020 International tractor, allegedly driven by Tyler Stafford of Shelbyville, Texas,<br />
struck a concrete barrier and burst into flames after hitting another tractor-trailer while traveling<br />
the wrong way on Interstate 5 in Oregon on Sunday, Nov. 22.<br />
nor Rickman were injured during the incident.<br />
The accident caused a three-hour closure<br />
of the southbound lanes of I-5 in the area;<br />
the northbound lanes were closed for about<br />
30 minutes.<br />
The Oregon State Police troopers were<br />
assisted by Cottage Grove Police Department,<br />
the Lane County Sheriff’s Office,<br />
South Lane Fire and Rescue and the Oregon<br />
Department of Transportation. 8<br />
The Trucker is a semi-monthly, national newspaper for the<br />
trucking industry, published by The Trucker Media Group at<br />
1123 S. University, Suite 325<br />
Little Rock, AR 72204-1610<br />
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Bobby Ralston<br />
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meganh@thetruckermedia.com<br />
Managing Editor<br />
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Linda Garner-Bunch<br />
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Lyndon Finney<br />
lyndonf@thetruckermedia.com<br />
Federal prosecutors file petition to reconsider three vacated<br />
convictions of Pilot executives relating to rebate scheme<br />
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<br />
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Federal prosecutors<br />
are seeking to restore the tossed convictions<br />
for the former president of Pilot Flying J<br />
and two of his former employees related to a<br />
rebate scheme to cheat trucking companies out<br />
of millions of dollars.<br />
The petition filed this week asks a 6th U.S.<br />
Circuit Court of Appeals panel to reconsider its<br />
ruling that jurors should not have heard recordings<br />
of racist language by the former president,<br />
Mark Hazelwood.<br />
The panel’s split decision in October vacated<br />
convictions for Hazelwood, who received<br />
the harshest prison sentence at 12 ½ years, and<br />
two others. The panel ordered the case to be<br />
sent back to a lower court for a new trial, ruling<br />
further that it would not be necessary to assign<br />
the case to a different judge.<br />
At trial, the jury heard secret recordings of<br />
Hazelwood using racial slurs and profanely<br />
criticizing his board of directors and his boss’s<br />
football team and fans. Hazelwood later apologized<br />
for his language.<br />
The majority wrote that the racist recordings<br />
were wrongly admitted on the “theory that<br />
if the defendant was reckless enough to use<br />
language that could risk public outrage against<br />
the company, he was a ‘bad businessman,’ and<br />
as a bad businessman, he was also reckless<br />
enough to commit fraud.”<br />
In their petition for reconsideration, prosecutors<br />
wrote that they offered the recordings to<br />
“rebut Hazelwood’s assertion that he was too<br />
good an executive and businessman to do anything<br />
that could jeopardize the company’s viability<br />
and success” because the racist remarks<br />
“would have damaged Pilot’s success and reputation”<br />
if they became publicly known.<br />
“By stating that Hazelwood’s racist and<br />
sexist remarks merely revealed his ‘seriously<br />
misguided personal beliefs,’ the majority implied<br />
that racism can be compatible with good<br />
business practices,” prosecutors wrote.<br />
Hazelwood was convicted in 2018 of conspiracy,<br />
wire fraud and witness tampering. Former<br />
company vice president Scott “Scooter”<br />
Wombold was convicted of wire fraud and<br />
sentenced to six years in prison, and former<br />
account representative Heather Jones was convicted<br />
of conspiracy to commit wire and mail<br />
fraud and sentenced to more than 2 ½ years.<br />
Fourteen former Pilot Flying J employees<br />
pleaded guilty earlier.<br />
iStock Photo<br />
A petition filed with a 6th U.S. Circuit Court<br />
of Appeals panel seeks to restore the convictions<br />
of Mark Hazelwood, former president<br />
of Pilot and Flying J, along with two of<br />
his former employees, in a rebate scheme.<br />
Pilot Flying J is controlled by the family<br />
of Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam<br />
and former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The<br />
Haslams have not been charged with any<br />
wrongdoing. The former governor has not been<br />
involved with the company in recent years.<br />
The company earlier agreed to pay an $85<br />
million settlement to defrauded customers and<br />
a $92 million penalty to the government. 8<br />
Kris Rutherford<br />
krisr@thetruckermedia.com<br />
Contributing Writers<br />
Sarah DeClerk<br />
Dwain Hebda<br />
Sam Pierce<br />
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please contact Meg Larcinese<br />
at megl@thetruckermedia.com.<br />
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