METHOW, WA : A truck driver who was killed in a double-fatality crash on Tuesday, July 25, 2017

A truck driver who was killed in a double-fatality crash on Highway 153 near Methow on July worked for the same company as the truck driver who’s serving a year in prison for killing an Orondo woman after falling asleep at the wheel two years ago.

The Washington State Patrol confirmed that both drivers worked for Diamond Freight Systems — which also goes by NW Freight Inc. — based at the same Yakima address.

A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.

Diamond Freight is being sued by the family of Carmela Cuellar Morales, who was killed when a Diamond Freight Systems truck driven by Kenneth A. Hahn, 56, of Yakima, crossed the centerline on Highway 97 near Orondo, and struck her car. The truck went on to collide with an Orondo school bus, which injured the driver and some of the children on board.

Cuellar’s family filed a lawsuit in Douglas County Superior Court in January, saying the company “knew that its employees, including Kenneth Hahn, work long hours, irregular hours, and operated its vehicles while fatigued.”

Her family’s Moses Lake attorney, G. Joe Schwab, said the case is on hold while all of the parties attempt to reach a settlement. He said Diamond Freight last year formed a new company called NW Freight, and also operated a company called DFS Freight Inc., which leased trucks to Diamond Freight.

“They have continued to operate, but just call themselves something different, under another corporation, because they’ve got this lawsuit pending,” he said.

Hahn was sentenced in April to one year and one day in prison after pleading guilty in Douglas County Superior Court to vehicular homicide.

Hahn was also driving for Diamond Freight when his box truck crossed the centerline in February 2014 and struck an oncoming Honda Pilot, injuring the driver and passenger. He was cited for improper lane usage.

State Patrol officials said the investigation into the July 6 crash that killed box truck driver Kenneth W. Fennix, 25, of Zillah — who was working for Diamond Freight — and semi-truck driver Steve G. Osburn, 60, of Clarkston, is not yet complete.

However, troopers did say that a bee inside Fennix’s cab caused him to cross the centerline and hit the semi-tractor trailer truck. A passenger in the box truck told investigators about the bee, and someone driving behind the truck saw no erratic driving until the crash.

Source :
Yakima trucking company involved in second fatal crash