As President Donald Trump and Congress look to hold illegal immigrant truckers accountable, a future United States Supreme Court decision could modify a federal law that could allow victims of commercial vehicle crashes to hold those responsible for hiring the driver behind the crash accountable.
The ruling, which is expected before June, could overturn a 2019 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit and allow for the modification of Section 14501(c)(1) of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994.
“The statute being argued is severely outdated and does nothing to help the innocent families of the victims to unprovoked accidents,” Marcus Coleman, the father of Dalilah Coleman, who was struck by an illegal immigrant truck driver when she was 5, told The Daily Signal.
“If you are a broker and hire a company with issues, and continue operating with that company, you should be held liable. That is gross negligence.”
While the Colemans did not bring this lawsuit, the Coleman family has been pushing for a ban on illegal immigrants obtaining commercial driver’s licenses and has been closely monitoring the case.
The plaintiff, Shawn Montgomery, filed the case after Yosniel Varela-Mojena, a commercial truck driver for Caribe Transport II LLC, crashed into him in 2017. Varela-Mojena’s tractor-trailer veered off the road and crashed into Montgomery’s tractor-trailer, which was stopped on the side of an Illinois highway. Montgomery suffered major injuries, which resulted in the loss of one of his limbs.
Coleman told The Daily Signal that if the court were to side with Montgomery, it could allow the victims and families of these major crashes to sue the brokers responsible for hiring the driver who caused the crash.
Dalilah, now 7 years old, was hit by an 18-wheeler with an illegal immigrant driver behind the wheel in California.