WELD COUNTY, Colo. — A new filing in federal court alleges that Caminantes Trucking did not have insurance for more than two years prior to a June 2022 crash on I-25 that killed five people.
The filing alleges that State Farm Insurance cancelled its policy for Camininates in 2020, citing “severe safety violations and unsafe history.” According to the suit, State Farm was required to tell the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration about the company’s lack of coverage. The lawsuit says that never happened, and the federal agency allowed Camininates to stay on the road for years without insurance.
"28 months before the crash, this motor carrier loses its insurance coverage because it's been in so many wrecks, so many violations, so many safety violations," said Grant Lawson, a lawyer with Metier Law Firm representing surviving members of the family. "The insurance company that pulled its insurance never notified the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. At the same time, we have the United States governments through the United States Postal Service still continuing to contract with this trucking company."
Aaron Godines and Hailie Everts were killed, along with their infant daughter. Aaron's parents, Christina and Emiliano, were also in the car and died.
The lawsuit argues that the trucking company should have had insurance. The Postal Service should’ve checked before they hired Caminantes to carry mail. State Farm should’ve told the federal government they cancelled the insurance plan, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) should’ve stopped the truck from being on the road.
According to this lawsuit, none of that happened. The family is now suing Caminantes Trucking, State Farm and USPS in federal court. There is also a criminal lawsuit in Weld County against the driver of the truck, who prosecutors have charged with vehicular homicide.
"We have an organization that’s responsible for policing hundreds of thousands of trucking companies. They are understaffed. They are overwhelmed. They do not have enough resources. They do not have enough people to make sure the rules and regulations are being followed," Lawson said of the FMCSA.
And yet, it gets worse. Text messages obtained by 9NEWS show the trucking company tried to buy insurance for the truck around an hour after the crash.
"If this happened here, how many other trucking companies out there are getting away with the same thing," Lawson said.
The truck was also operating with faulty brakes, and the truck driver didn’t have a proper license. Federal documents show neither the truck nor the driver should have ever been on the road.
9NEWS asked State Farm Monday why they didn’t tell the government that they cancelled the insurance plan two years before the crash. They declined to comment.
Even with all of these problems, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration never pulled the companies permits to operate. In fact, they were only fined a little more than $20,000.
The postal service continued their contract with them for months after the crash until 9NEWS began asking questions. Eventually, USPS dropped their contract with them.
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