Two and a half years in prison for a transport businessman for the death of a driver due to the poor condition of the wheels

BarcelonaA judge in Terrassa has sentenced a businessman to two and a half years in prison for the death of an employee, a truck driver, whose tire burst while he was driving on the highway, causing him to lose control and crash into a sign, resulting in his death. According to the sentence, the cause of the accident was the poor condition of the vehicle's tires.

The sentence condemns the businessman B.L.C., director of the companies Serveis i Obres Costa Daurada S.L. and Excavaciones Balex S.L., to two years and six months in prison and the same period of disqualification from managing transport companies, for a crime against workers' rights in ideal concurrence with a crime of serious reckless homicide. Likewise, the person in charge and the operator of the tire company are also sentenced to one year in prison, for a crime of negligent homicide.

The truck driver died after losing control of the vehicle while traveling on the A-2 near Castellbisbal, because his front left tire burst, he crossed two lanes, and collided first with a New Jersey barrier and then with the support of a highway information panel. The driver died at the scene due to his injuries.

The sentence considers it proven that the front left tire, "like the rest of the vehicle's tires," was installed by the tire company of two of the condemned, after speaking with the head of the transport company, and they "decided to place a used tire that was not in a condition to be driven."

Poor condition of the tire

The ruling also considers it proven that both the tractor and semi-trailer tires "did not have adequate maintenance" and therefore a wheel burst, causing the fatal accident. The wheel, the judge indicates, burst "due to its poor state of conservation, completely worn, below the legally established limits, with hardened rubber and irregular depth". The rest of the tires also showed a poor state and, according to the ruling, the employer failed in his duty to ensure the safety of the workers and, specifically, of the driver who died in the accident, failing in his duty "to guarantee that the work equipment provided to his workers is adequate".

Furthermore, the ruling orders the company's insurer to compensate the family of the injured driver. Thus, it will have to pay almost 123,000 euros to the widow, more than 138,000 euros to the son and 146,000 euros to the daughter, more than 42,000 euros to the father and the same amount to the mother, and 16,000 euros to each of the deceased's two brothers.