Limo company involved in fatal I-90 crash shut down
The Wisconsin-based limousine company involved in a fatal crash on the Jane Addams Tollway near Elgin last month has been shut down after federal investigators determined the carrier poses "an imminent hazard to public safety," authorities said Tuesday.
A federal compliance review conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found Lyons Limousine, of Edgerton, Wisconsin, was in violation of multiple federal safety regulations, according to a news release.
One of the company's limousines crashed and rolled over after 7 a.m. March 25 on eastbound Interstate 90 near Route 25, resulting in the death of one passenger and injuries to six others. The driver of the limousine told police he was blinded by the sun and unable to see the traffic lane pattern.
The violation list released Tuesday charges the company with using an underage driver to operate a commercial motor vehicle, failing to conduct background checks on its drivers, failing to keep maintenance records and failing to monitor its drivers' hours of service to prevent fatigued driving. The company also didn't have safety and operating authority registration or maintain the required levels of public liability insurance, the release stated.
The driver, Aaron Nash, was 20 at the time of the crash, though federal regulations require interstate commercial drivers to be at least 21. Nash had five traffic-related citations on his record and his driver's license was suspended last September for failure to pay a fine. He was dispatched by the company on at least two other occasions in March, federal authorities said.
Owners of Lyons Limousine didn't respond to a request for comment Tuesday.