United Group Insurance

Troubled trucking firm faces scrutiny after Texas deaths

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July 27th, 2017 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A trucking company linked to a recent deadly human smuggling case in Texas had long promoted itself as a family firm whose hard-working drivers helped keep the U.S. economy running.

But according to public records and interviews with former drivers, Pyle Transportation was a cutthroat business that flouted laws, yet managed to stay afloat despite financial troubles and tangles with the government.

One of the company’s contract drivers was charged Monday in the deaths of 10 immigrants found in a sweltering Pyle trailer in San Antonio. The firm says it knew nothing about the human smuggling operation.

Federal regulators have launched an investigation into the company’s safety record.