USAO, Eastern District of Pennsylvania - Press Release

Summary

On October 3, 2011, Valerjis Belovs, a truck driver responsible for a crash that killed one and injured several others, pled guilty to fifteen false statement counts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Belovs admitted to falsifying his Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulated logbooks to conceal the fact that he drove in excess of the allowable driving hours without the required period of rest.  

The federal charges are related to an accident on U.S. 76 in Philadelphia in which one person died and five others were seriously injured when Mr. Belov's truck plowed into stopped traffic.  

Mr. Belovs previously pled guilty to various state charges related to the same incident, including one count of vehicular homicide.  An analysis of Mr. Belovs' regulated driver logbooks revealed that at the time of the accident, he was driving in excess of FMSCA maximum hours of operating a commercial vehicle.  

The truck's owner, Victor Kalinitchll, was previously sentenced on state charges; as was Joseph Jadczak, who admitted to selling inspection stickers to Mr. Kalinitchll without inspecting the truck that plunged into stopped traffic.  

The investigation was conducted jointly with the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and the Pennsylvania State Police.  FMSCA assisted with the investigation.