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Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
2 more charged in death of Louisiana staged accident witness
A new indictment in the staged accident scam in Louisiana charges a disbarred lawyer and another man with participating in the murder of a cooperating witness who was gunned down in his home in 2020. The superseding indictment in what prosecutors have dubbed Operation Sideswipe was unsealed Friday and reported by the U.S. attorney's office Monday. It replaces a January indictment that charged Ryan Harris, 36, also known as Red, with murdering Cornelius Garrison at his home. When that indictment was unsealed, Harris had agreed to plead guilty to the charges. He was first indicted in May 2024. But in the legal document known as the proffer that was released in connection with Harris' guilty plea, it was revealed that Harris had identified disbarred lawyer Sean Alfortish and Leon Parker, also known as Chunky, with participating in Garrison's murder. They were not indicted at the time. Alfortish had been working with law firms involved in Operation proffer says Parker murdered Garrison and that Alfortish paid him for the act. As for Harris' role, he arranged for Altorfish and Parker to meet, according to the proffer. 'Harris knew that, by arranging the meeting between Alfortish and Parker, he was assisting Alfortish and Parker's scheme to murder Garrison.' Harris was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Harris was first indicted in May 2024 along with Jovanna Gardner. But prosecutors later concluded Gardner had only minimal involvement in Garrison's shooting, and her case was dismissed after she pleaded guilty to witness tampering. The indictment, as a superseding legal step, also reiterates the earlier indictments of several other attorneys and their firms that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana says were involved in the planning of Operation Sideswipe. The series of staged accidents began as far back as 2011 with the goal of prying loose insurance payouts from trucking companies and insurers. The largest payout is believed to involve an accident with truckload carrier C.R. England that totaled about $4.75 indictment charging Alfortish and Parker with Garrison's murder said they conspired with 'others known and unknown to the grand jury' in Garrison's shooting. Parker and Alfortish are in custody, according to the court filing that set May 14 as the date for the arraignment of all the defendants in the case. The others are free on bond from the original indictment. It is the indictment of Alfortish and Parker that is fresh in the superseding indictment. Otherwise, its verbiage appears identical to the December indictment against the other defendants who were charged with much of the planning for Operation Sideswipe: attorney Vanessa Motta, 43 of New Orleans; the Motta law firm; Jason Giles, 46, of New Orleans, an attorney and partner at the King Firm, a New Orleans law firm that also was indicted; and defendants, Diaminike Stalbert, Carl Morgan and Timara Lawrence. (Local media in New Orleans reported that Motta, a former stuntwoman, The latter three were charged with being part of the staged accidents. Earlier indictments of others who were not planners but participated in the collisions primarily with Class 8 vehicles but also with buses and high-priced cars have mostly resulted in guilty pleas on charges of mail fraud. Out of 63 indictments so far, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office said there have been 51 guilty pleas, with no indictments going to trial. (In an unusual twist, Motta's mother has asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to intervene in the case, according to local press reports.) The indictment also refers to the participation of slammers 'G, H and I' without identification. Slammers, in the staged accident scam, created the collision with a vehicle and then exited their own automobile as soon as the crash took place, with somebody else taking their spot in the driver's seat. Two of the organizers of the scam, Damian Labeaud (who also was a slammer) and attorney Danny Keating, pleaded guilty in 2020 (Labeaud) and 2021 (Keating). Their respective sentencings have been delayed multiple times; Labeaud's was to be in early May but was recently postponed until October. Keating's sentencing scheduled for earlier this year also got pushed to that recap in the superseding indictment includes references to several people who already have pleaded guilty, including Keating and Labeaud. The sentences handed down so far in the case range from probation to home detention to four years in federal prison. The U.S. attorney's office also notes attorneys 'C,D,E and F' as being part of the planning and execution of Operation Sideswipe. That suggests indictments of other attorneys may be handed down in the future. Those unidentified attorneys 'knowingly pursued fraudulent lawsuits based on staged collisions,' according to the superseding indictment. Earlier indictments referred to attorneys 'A and B.' Those two letters are not mentioned in the latest round, suggesting they were the attorneys and law firms in the superseding indictment who are now identified: the Motta firm and the King firm. The specific charges against Parker and Alfortish are witness tampering through murder, conspiracy to retaliate against a witness through murder and causing death through use of a firearm. More articles by John Kingston A market on the precipice: 5 takeaways from the April State of Freight Wall Street embraces Ryder's mildly positive earnings report then pulls back TFI's Bedard upbeat on revamped US LTL operations even as numbers sink The post 2 more charged in death of Louisiana staged accident witness appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
C.R. England adopts AI-powered driver-facing cameras
Nationwide truckload carrier C.R. England recently announced it has chosen safety and telematics provider Lytx to equip its 3,500-truck fleet with driver-facing cameras. The cameras are part of a larger suite called Lytx Drive Cam Event Recorders, which use AI and computer vision to 'identify driving risks, including distracted driving, handheld cell phone use, lack of seat belt use, following too closely, and more.' This comes as other large truckload carriers including J.B. Hunt and Prime Inc. have tested or adopted camera technology. For J.B. Hunt, Trucking Dive reported that the fleet had completed adopting driver-facing cameras across its entire fleet after having piloted the technology back in 2018. For large truckload carriers, the legal benefits appear to outweigh the privacy costs. The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) wrote in a 2023 report, 'According to surveys of legal and insurance experts, DFC [driver-facing camera] footage, when available, exonerates drivers in 52 percent of insurance claims and 49 percent of litigation cases as well as leading to settlements in 86 percent of cases versus proceeding to trial.' Despite the benefits, road-facing cameras remain the primary camera option for surveyed fleets. The same ATRI report noted that as of 2023, only 32% of survey respondents used DFCs compared to 72% who use over 100-year-old federal excise tax on heavy-duty trucks is again under scrutiny. The U.S. House of Representatives recently reintroduced legislation aimed at removing it. The bipartisan legislation is called The Modern, Clean, and Safe Trucks Act of 2025. Trucking lobby groups supported the measure. American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear said in a release, 'First implemented over a century ago to help finance America's effort in World War I, the FET has become the largest excise tax on any product, adding $24,000 to the cost of each new clean-diesel tractor-trailer.' Spear added that keeping the tax on the books would continue to impose enormous hardship especially for small fleets and independent truckers. The ATA estimates that the federal excise tax, currently at 12%, the highest levied on any product, creates $6 billion in an added annual burden on the trucking industry. The Commercial Carrier Journal reports that during testimony to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, the FET was noted as adding an average of $22,000 to the cost of each vehicle. CCJ adds that similar efforts in recent sessions of Congress have failed. The exact costs added vary. CDL Life reports that according to Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., 'it adds $15,000 to $30,000 the cost of new heavy trucks, trailers, semitrailer chassis, and tractors for highway use. LaMalfa also says the FET encourages the sale of used trucks because these vehicles are not subject to the 12% tax.'March preliminary Class 8 orders further retreated based on year-over-year comps, according to data released Wednesday by ACT Research. March preliminary North America Class 8 net orders were 16,000 units, down 8.3% y/y. A central theme for March and Q1's overall performance remains uncertainty. Carter Vieth, research analyst at ACT Research, wrote, 'Whether the slowdown in orders is a result of moderating economic activity, private fleets' pausing expansion, or a response to trade and policy uncertainty is difficult to surmise and remains an open question.' Vieth adds that while March orders were down 8.3% y/y compared to February, seasonally adjusted Class 8 orders rose 1.1% from February to 16,500 units, with a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 198,000 units, 'one of the lowest 1-month SAAR readings in almost three years.' The impacts of reciprocal tariffs announced by the Trump administration on Wednesday add further uncertainty, due to the extensive supply chain integration between Mexico, Canada and the U.S. when it comes to producing a Class 8 tractor. While the recent tariffs avoid items under the existing United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the raw materials such as aluminum and steel used in making the tractors may increase. Dan Moyer, senior analyst of commercial vehicles at FTR Transportation Intelligence, added in a February release, 'Approximately 45% of all Class 8 trucks built for the U.S. and Canadian markets will be subject to the 25% U.S. tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico and planned Canadian counter tariffs. About 40% of U.S. Class 8 trucks are produced in Mexico, and roughly 65% of Canada's Class 8 trucks are assembled in the U.S.' Summary: For the dry van segment, the beginning of spring brought little change in tender rejection and volume rates, with the past week seeing little movement. On a positive note, compared to the previous year, dry van conditions are more favorable for carriers despite lower dry van tender volumes. Dry van outbound tender rejection rates were flat w/w at 5.48% but are 183 basis points higher than last year's value of 3.65%. Dry van outbound tender volumes saw slight gains w/w but remain lower compared to y/y comps. VOTVI rose 86.16 points or 1.2% w/w from 7,188.76 points on March 24 to 7,274.92 points. Compared to last year, VOTVI is 359.63 points or 4.71% lower than last year's value of 7,634.55 points. Tariffs and their potential impacts remain an important concern for the dry van segment, with manufacturers' demand planning struggling due to uncertainty. Manufacturing indexes saw dips in their March releases. Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said, 'A key concern among manufacturers is the degree to which heightened uncertainty resulting from government policy changes, notably in relation to tariffs, causes customers to cancel or delay spending, and the extent to which costs are rising and supply chains deteriorating in this environment.' Less consumer demand means less spending and fewer upstream replenishment orders. For the dry van space, a marked downturn in automotive, retail and other durable goods orders could explain some of the poor performance in dry van tender volumes compared to seasonal expectations. The $3,500 Divide: Trucker Pay Trails National Average, Impacting Truck Driver Job Satisfaction (FinditParts)Lawmakers try again to improve truckers' bathroom access (FreightWaves) Freight industry: Which regulations should DOT cut? (FreightWaves) Mullen preps more layoffs, lease terminations (Fleet Owner) Truck driver triumphs at Supreme Court in case involving marijuana testing (FreightWaves)FMCSA calls fraud a 'public safety crisis masquerading as an economic problem' in tech-focused MATS talk (Overdrive) The post C.R. England adopts AI-powered driver-facing cameras appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
C.R. England Advances Industry Excellence with Lytx Video Safety Technologies
The U.S.'s premier carrier chooses Lytx to help fulfill C.R. England's "Safe & On Time, Every Time" commitment to its customers SAN DIEGO, March 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lytx® Inc., the industry icon of video and safety-driven efficiency, today announced that C.R. England has selected Lytx to help protect the carrier's 4,000 professional drivers operating its fleet of more than 3,500 tractor trucks. The company, based in Salt Lake City, UT, will outfit its entire fleet with Lytx DriveCam® Event Recorders, which use Lytx's proprietary machine vision and artificial intelligence technology (MV+AI)[1] to identify driving risks, including distracted driving, handheld cell phone use, lack of seat belt use, following too closely, and more. "For years, we've admired C.R. England and the England family for their leadership in safety and their commitment to exceptional service," said David Riordan, Executive Vice President at Lytx. "We are honored to have the opportunity to help protect C.R. England's people, its equipment, and its century-long heritage and storied reputation." "Nothing we do is more important than making sure our team members and the public return home safely," said Chad England, Chief Executive Officer of C.R. England, one of North America's largest private, family-owned transportation and logistics companies. "It's why we invest heavily in driver training and top-tier technology from innovative companies like Lytx." C.R. England selected Lytx after an extensive, three-month competitive evaluation against two other video safety providers. Success criteria included the performance and accuracy of the technology used to identify risks, as well as a demonstrated history of innovation. "Our company is built on a core commitment to delivering excellence," England said. "For us, excellence is not a one-and-done exercise. It's a continuous pursuit to always operate at the leading edge with the best tools and technologies available. With its 27-year track record of high-velocity innovation, Lytx is the right choice to help us advance our ambitious safety goals." A pioneer in the transportation industry, C.R. England is a fourth-generation, family owned and operated carrier, founded in 1920 by Chester R. England. It was the first carrier in the U.S. to offer 72-hour cross-country, over-the-road freight service. Today, the company provides intermodal, dedicated, truckload, and logistics services in the U.S. and Mexico. "As our business continues to grow, we needed a partner that could scale with us while enhancing our commitment to safety excellence," said Colin England, Director of Accident Prevention at C.R. England. "Lytx's dedication to customer success, combined with its significantly more advanced technology compared to our previous tools, made it the ideal choice for us." About C.R. EnglandC.R. England is a privately-owned, customer and employee-focused company that has been moving America's freight safely since 1920. A pioneer in transportation, C.R. England provides asset-based dedicated, truckload, and intermodal solutions to solve a wide variety of customer needs. Large and small shippers rely on C.R. England as a strategic partner to haul their shipments safely and on time. C.R. England is committed to doing things the right way: supporting its drivers, investing in equipment, and continuing to provide innovative solutions to meet the demands of today's shippers. With headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, and four company-sponsored driving schools throughout the nation, C.R. England is an industry leader in keeping America connected. For more information, visit About LytxLytx is a global leader in video safety and video telematics. Our solutions harness the power of video to empower drivers and fleets to be safer and more efficient, productive, and profitable so they can thrive in today's competitive environment. Through the Lytx Vision™ Platform, direct and reseller clients access our customizable services and programs spanning fleet safety, risk detection, fleet tracking, ELD compliance, preventative maintenance, and fuel management. Using the world's largest driving database of its kind, along with proprietary machine vision and artificial intelligence technology, we help protect and connect thousands of fleets and 3.4 million drivers in more than 85 countries. For more information about Lytx, visit @lytx on X, LinkedIn, our Facebook page, or our YouTube channel. [1] The MV+AI technology is a driver aid only. Drivers should never wait for a warning before taking measures to avoid an accident. The MV+AI distraction detection and alerting technology does not collect, store or use any biometric identifiers or biometric information (e.g., scans of facial geometry) to detect distracted driving behaviors. See Contact:Jason Andersencorpcomm@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Lytx, Inc. Sign in to access your portfolio
