Teamsters cite Mexican truck crash

The Teamsters issued a press release calling attention to a border crash that involved two Mexican trucks, and the union urged the Bush administration to conduct a full investigation. In the January 10 incident, two tractor-trailer trucks with Mexican license plates crashed and burst into flames on a bridge linking Reynosa, Mexico and Pharr, Texas. Four people died and six were injured, according to news reports. Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said his union is concerned that the Bush Administration won’t fully investigate the accident because it wants to protect its cross border trucking test program. “The Bush Administration claims it can track all the trucks involved in its pilot project using satellite tracking technology,” the release noted.

The Teamster release referenced another crash involving a Mexican truck loaded with ammonium nitrate that resulted in injuries and fatalities. The Teamsters and other interest groups have challenged the legality of the cross border program in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. A hearing date is set for Feb. 12. Source