HOUSTON – KPRC 2 Investigates looked at the records for the company that owns a truck that spilled wet concrete, causing a crash that left two people dead in northeast Harris County early Friday morning.
LaTonya Earl, a well-known gospel singer, was killed in the crash. The driver of another car, 19-year-old Selvin Palacios was also killed.
READ: Well-known Houston gospel singer among 2 killed in crash caused by lost load of cement
KPRC 2 Investigates found several accidents, violations and complaints over the past two years. Lattimore Materials Corporation is a Swiss company with offices around the world, including a truck company in Texas.
HISTORY OF ACCIDENTS
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Lattimore’s trucks have been involved in a total of nine accidents, resulting in four injuries. This does not include Friday morning’s fatal accident.
HISTORY OF VIOLATIONS
The company’s trucks have been cited for 226 violations, including multiple violations for not properly securing a load.
COMPLAINTS WITH BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
We also looked at the history of complaints with the Better Business Bureau and found two in the past year.
From June 2019: “A Lattimore concrete truck driving in front of me let loose an avalanche of rocks that hit my new car and cracked the windshield.”
From February 2019: “My family and I were driving through Dallas when I saw lots of brake lights and swerving. I quickly noticed a concrete truck with rocks coming from it. I swerved and braked but still managed to get hit by a few stones. The result was it cracking my windshield.”
COMPANY RESPONSE
We reached out to Lattimore for a comment:
“The safety of our employees, contractors, visitors, as well as the communities in which we live and work, is our top priority. We express our sincere condolences to the families of the two drivers who have died. The investigation of this matter is ongoing, in close cooperation with local authorities. Until the investigation is complete, we aren’t able to provide any further details.”