Driver in Bay Area highway collapse had history of arrests

AP wire on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 4/30/07 | Marcus Wohlsen - ap

[NormsRevenge]

The driver who crashed a tanker loaded with gasoline and brought down a heavily trafficked highway overpass was given a commercial trucker's license despite a history of criminal convictions, including drug and burglary arrests.

James Mosqueda, 51, of Woodland also got a special hazardous materials endorsement last year from the federal Transportation Security Administration. To get it, he had to undergo an FBI criminal history check and an intelligence background check.

"It's reprehensible," said Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, who chairs both the Assembly Transportation Committee and the Joint Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security. "Someone with that record has no business driving hazardous materials on our highways."

The elevated section of highway that funnels traffic from the Bay Bridge to a number of key freeways was destroyed early Sunday after flames from James Mosqueda's overturned gasoline truck caused part of that overpass to buckle and collapse onto a roadway below.

Although a predicted traffic nightmare failed to materialize Monday as workers heeded the dire warnings and stayed home, or seized on free public transportation, transit officials cautioned it will be months before things return to normal for Bay Area commuters.

Authorities said drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash, and that Mosqueda may have lost control because he was speeding from a refinery in Benicia to a gas station near the Oakland airport.

He served two years and eight months in prison following a 1996 arrest for heroin possession in Sacramento County, court records show. His criminal rap sheet stretching back to 1981 also includes arrests for burglary, felony drug charges and possession of stolen property, according to the California Department of Corrections and the Sacramento County District Attorney's office.

His brother, Ruben Mosqueda, 44, an artist living in San Francisco, said his brother has been sober for more than a decade and now works as a drug and alcohol counselor with a Hispanic health organization.

"All that happened over 10 years ago," Ruben Mosqueda said of his brother's criminal record. "A lot has changed."

Still, in light of Mosqueda's numerous convictions, the Transportation Security Administration said late Monday it would review whether he should have been cleared to drive a gasoline tanker.

"Under TSA HazMat rules, individuals who have been convicted of certain felonies will not be able to hold a hazardous materials endorsement," said TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley. "In this case, we are going to further investigate this case and look into the individual details."

TSA rules require those convicted of a drug offense to wait seven years before qualifying for the HazMat endorsement. There is also a five-year waiting period after a convict is released from prison. Since Mosqueda was released in 2001, he became eligible in 2006.

There is also nothing that prevents a convicted felon who has served his sentence from getting his commercial truck driver's license in California - so long as he has a clear driving record, CHP Chief Steve Vaughn said.

Still, officials quickly called for a review of rules that allow a person with a criminal background to drive a truck carrying more than 8,000 gallons of gasoline through a densely populated area.

"We should look into the policy that would give a driver with a checkered past like this the ability to drive such a hazardous vehicle," said Nathan Ballard, a spokesman for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Investigators examined evidence at the accident scene Monday to determine what caused the collision and whether Mosqueda was at fault. None one died and he was the only person injured. He walked away from the scene and hailed a cab and remained hospitalized Monday with second-degree burns.

His mother, Alicia Mosqueda, said it was an accident, and he shouldn't be blamed for it.

"It was a real miracle that he was able to walk out alive," she said in a telephone interview. "God knows he had no fault in this. He was just doing his work."

Crews also began hauling away charred debris and engineers prepared for reconstruction, which could take two to three months. Inspectors X-rayed about a dozen pillars supporting the ramp near the collapsed section to see if they could be salvaged, California Department of Transportation spokesman Jeff Weiss said.

He cautioned that a scarcity of steel resulting from a building boom, in China and India could slow reconstruction.

"We can't get steel like we used to," Weiss said.

The damaged roads, vital arteries linking San Francisco to its eastern suburbs, carry some 80,000 vehicles a day. Originally built in the 1950s, the collapsed road was retrofitted in the late 1990s to withstand earthquake damage.

Rather than rebuild the ramp to existing blueprints, engineers would likely overhaul the interchange to conform to today's more stringent seismic standards, Weiss said.

Emergency response officials were also doing their own analysis for lessons they can apply to the region's inevitable next earthquake, or a terrorist attack.

"It's almost your perfect tabletop exercise - real pristine, clean, and nobody got hurt," CHP Officer Mike Wright said.

Newsom said city officials were also looking at the tanker crash for clues for how to shore up their emergency response plan.

"Every time we go through this, it's beneficial because we're able to see the gaps," he said. "This is not a dress rehearsal, it's serious, but we didn't lose any lives."

Applying lessons from past earthquakes could also be key to a quick recovery.

After the 1989 Loma Prieta quake collapsed a section of the Bay Bridge's upper span, crews were able to complete the repairs in just one month. The Santa Monica Freeway was reopened in 66 days, well ahead of schedule, after it was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Those projects were sped along by incentive clauses that reward contractors for getting the job done ahead of time and fine them for delays.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's emergency declaration authorized free transit on the Bay Area Rapid Transit rail system, ferries and buses. Many apparently took advantage: Parking lots at outlying BART stations like El Cerrito and Pittsburg-Baypoint filled up earlier than usual as commuters tried to beat the rush they imagined was coming. Others took the day off or telecommuted.

"I'm mad," said Crystal McSwain, who has a commuter pass for the trans-bay bus, but was taking BART - a more expensive option. "My life is upside down, and I don't know how long it's going to take."

[BurbankKarl]

They let it burn so the foam and fuel wouldnt hurt the little fishies in SF Bay.

[SFConservative]

On Google Maps, this ramp looks like a broad sweeping turn. I don’t see anything like the progessive increase in curvature, e.g., which one often finds on exit ramps.

I take that puppy every Monday morning around 4:00 AM as I do my weekly commute from the Sacramento area to Palo Alto. That ramp is very misleading, as it first curves smoothly leftward and then you suddenly have to correct rightward to line up toward South 880 at the split between East 580 and South 880. The split is almost invisible until you are almost on top of it due to the vertical grade and then leveling of the ramp. Very badly aligned, and worst in light traffic as the initial entry seems to support a high speed.

I'm not making a blanket excuse for the driver, but if this was one of the first times he made this run he was definitely at risk due to the lousy alignment and design of this ramp, both laterally and vertically.

[Diver Dave]

KOVR13 News (Sacramento - CBS affil) at 10 pm had an udate on the driver.

True, he does have prior criminal convictions, however, reporter stated that during his latest incarcerations, he turned his life around, accept Jesus Christ as his Savior, and has turned from his old ways.

His pastor in Woodland had praise for him and his character as well as did his next-door neighbor.

I’ll go along with the thinking that this was just an accident - nothing more, nothing less.

He will remain hospitalized for burn treatment for six more days. I’d be willing to suggest that given the hour of the accident, he might possibly have been cut-off by a drunk driver.

[dr_lew]

Experto credite

Anyway, here are some Google Maps screen grabs. The crash and fire were under the roadway in the red circle, and the green circles show the turning radius of the curves you mentioned. The crash happened still inside the first curve, so he must have lost control before that, well within the first curve.

For comparison I include the infamous "cemetery curve" ( note the cemetery ) on old Route 22 in Easton Pa. This used to be part of I-78 before a bypass was built south of the city some 10 or 15 years ago, now.

[Mila]

“You are pretty close. He has an Arabic name.”

I would have guessed that it was Spanish. Could it be both,presently Spanish but with Arabic roots?

[FreedomPoster]

Yes, all those U.S. colonies in . . . in . . . in . . .wait a minute, where were those U.S. colonies?

[arizonarachel]

I thought it was shady that he walked away from the accident, called a cab and went to the hospital instead of calling 911. But...that’s just me.

[BlackbirdSST]

Yes, all those U.S. colonies in . . . in . . . in . . .wait a minute, where were those U.S. colonies?

My guess? The entire SW USA, considering the other unseemly race baiting tactics used by the other poster. Blackbird.

[Godzilla]

Except that he was SPEEDING, for crying out loud!!!

I guess you never SPEED too, or is it ok for you and not others?

[OB1kNOb]

Mosqueda = Mosquito?

[TaMoDee]

Yes, I thought about that. The “Moors” were in Spain until about 1492 or so. Many cities have an Arabic name -—Granada-— for example. His now family carried over to Mexico by someone.

[Minutemen]

Interesting. How come people with all these “fur-eign” sounding surnames are involved with all these disasterous calamities of late? Are there no more Smiths,Jones or Rogers left to do the deeds?

[TaMoDee]

In the city in the Mid-West were I grew up there were very few Smiths, Jones, or Rogers. More ski’s, ta’s, er’s, ich’s etc! They had all the calamities.
More “vowel-endings” in California than ever with no end ever!

[Cruising Speed]

Everyday, car drivers cut off and stop in front of 18 wheelers

Yes, I see them every time I drive...fools.

OTOH, I've been deliberately forced off the road by a mad truck driver and rear-ended off the road by an errant truck driver (no, we didn't cut in front, the road was only two lanes and we weren't even stopping).

[at bay]

And me-

“He walked away from the scene and hailed a cab...”

More of his exercising good post-prison judgment.

[jackibutterfly]

"I guess you never SPEED too, or is it ok for you and not others?"

Oh, my gosh, I can't believe I have to spell this out for you. HE WAS HAULING TONS OF HAZARDOUS WASTE BEHIND HIM, YOU GOOF! When and if I EVER haul tons of hazardous waste behind ME, then I WILL NOT SPEED. Got it? And, yes, I've caught myself "speeding", and when I do, I slow down. But, that's not very often. And when I do, no, it's not ok. OK?

[supercat]

I thought it was shady that he walked away from the accident, called a cab and went to the hospital instead of calling 911. But...that’s just me.

According to the article I read, he didn't phone the cab--he saw it and asked the driver to take him to the hospital.

[arizonarachel]

Hm. What I heard on the news (granted several days ago now) was that he walked to a gas station and called a cab. Either way, it still doesn’t explain why he didn’t call 911.

[antiunion person]

I’m not saying all truck drivers are angels by any means. Also, I did a little research today and asked around about the company involved. This company likes to hire drivers stay out of school because they can get away with low wages and long hours with no overtime. This company also has a fleet of trucks that are substandard and no one seems to do anything about it. The CHP has already been clamping down on tankers in the Bay Area. What they should do is check the maintenance records of the company whose truck crashed. Lastly, what I heard from a friend of the driver who did crash, he overcompensated on the turn and the product in the compartments went one way and he went another. BANG!!! or BOOM in the this case.