LOUDON COUNTY, Tenn. — The owner of a small Texas trucking company extended his condolences to the family of a Loudon County Sheriff's sergeant and blamed his sole driver for the big rig crash in which the officer died Thursday.
"What happened is rather unfortunate and my heart is broken for the family," Frederick Agyenil told 10News over the phone. "I am sorry for the negligence of the driver and I’m also crying here for the family and I’m grieving with them as well."
Agyenil, who identified himself as the owner of Koboat Trucking LLC., insisted driver Christopher Savannah had a proper commercial driver's license, though the Tennessee Highway Patrol said he was disqualified from having one two years ago because of a drug charge.
Savannah ignored a rolling roadblock on I-75 Thursday morning and crashed into two cars before killing Sgt. Chris Jenkins, who had stopped to remove a ladder from the road, THP said. Savannah faces nine charges including DUI and criminally negligent homicide.
Agyenil said he had given federal and Tennessee authorities access to Savannah's driving record and application. He declined to answer further questions.
Company's safety record
Federal records showed Koboat Trucking's license was revoked in 2019. It was not clear why, and the records showed the license is currently active.
Out of four driver inspections, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Koboat's truckers should not have been behind the wheel two times. The national average of out-of-service inspections is about one in 20, it said.
The records showed the company maintained the federal minimum insurance policy of $750,000.
