Summary

On January 12, Carlos Aguirre-Giraldo was convicted of vehicular homicide and related charges after a 3-day trial in state court in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. According to testimony at trial, Aguirre-Giraldo, a truck driver for Industrias Suarez Sa Incorporated, of Clifton, New Jersey, was driving on Interstate 78 near Allentown, Pennsylvania on
December 27, 2005, when his truck crossed the median, struck a passenger vehicle and killed the two occupants, including a 21-year-old veteran of the Iraq war. Aguirre-Giraldo was also convicted of two counts of involuntary manslaughter and five counts of reckless endangerment. At the time the crash occurred, Aguirre-Giraldo had been behind the wheel of his truck in excess of the maximum 14 hours allowed under DOT regulations. OIG investigated this case with the Pennsylvania State Police and FMSCA. Sentencing is scheduled for March 7, 2007.