Repeat offender? trucking firm's safety record scrutinized after littleton crash
A familiar name is surfacing in the wake of a recent gas station crash near Denver, raising serious questions about oversight and accountability in the trucking industry. Just days after a semi-truck plowed into a Littleton QuickTrip, injuring the driver of another vehicle, investigators are uncovering a troubling history of safety violations linked to both the involved company, CDS Transport, and its apparent parent organization, American Demolition.
A survivor’s painful echoes
For Noah Williams, the scene unfolding in Littleton was a jarring replay of a life-altering event from 2017. Seven years ago, a semitruck owned by American Demolition, with demonstrably defective brakes, slammed into the back of his vehicle, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. “Just knew right away,” Williams told CBS Colorado, recognizing the truck’s markings from that devastating day.
The 2017 accident shattered Williams’ life, requiring a wheelchair and a service dog, Buddy, for daily navigation. He’d subsequently filed suit against American Demolition, unearthing a pattern of negligence—Colorado State Patrol inspection records documented 19 notices in the years leading up to the crash, primarily concerning brake issues. The subsequent inspection of the at-fault truck revealed it was overloaded and equipped with four defective brakes out of ten.
But the chilling connection doesn't end there. CBS Colorado’s investigation revealed that CDS Transport, the company involved in the Littleton incident, shares the same family ownership as American Demolition. The Littleton driver, Daniel Torrez, initially claimed brake failure, a claim police have refuted.
The pattern of events—a driver attributing a crash to failed brakes, followed by a denial of mechanical issues, and a shared ownership between companies with documented safety lapses—is deeply concerning.
Recurring violations & questionable oversight
Federal motor carrier records show CDS Transport’s safety registration hasn't been updated since 2022. Further scrutiny of Colorado State Patrol inspection records since 2023 reveals a string of violations, including drivers operating without valid commercial licenses, missing or defective brake warning devices, and, repeatedly, damaged or defective brakes. Just last December, another American Demolition truck was taken out of service due to a missing breakaway braking system, and the driver lacked both a valid license and the required English language proficiency.
CDS Transport offered a standard, almost perfunctory, response: