Truck driver told police ‘brakes failed’ moments before deadly crash

The truck driver involved in May’s deadly freeway crash told police he tried braking when a vehicle moved directly in front of him, but the truck’s breaks did not work. This is according to a police report obtained by ABC-7.

27-year-old Fateh Singh, of Fresno, California, further stated he tried using the emergency break, but that also failed. The report states Singh told police he was driving in between 50-55 mph when he crashed.

The incident happened Monday May 23, 2016 on I-10 East near Sunland Park.

“There is a possibility his brakes failed, but it is extremely difficult,” Mauro Cedillo Jr, a mechanic at M&M Truck Shop, told ABC-7. “They can go into the truck computer and see what speed he was traveling, if he actually did press the brake pedal, if his foot was on the accelerator. The computer on the engine logs all this data.”

Cedillo told ABC-7 it is possible that data is lost if the fire that consumed Singh’s truck destroyed the computer box. Police have not said if the fire destroyed the truck’s computer box.

“You need air pressure in order to engage the brakes and to release the brakes,” Cedillo said. “All trucks have a low-air warning and they also have air gauges. There’s a primary and a secondary gauge, they have a light and have an audible warning,” he added.

Cedillo said he has never heard of a complete braking system failure before. “Drivers should always inspect the brakes, there is a pre-trip inspection and there’s an annual inspection that’s required,” he added.

The department of transportation regularly inspects a semi truck’s braking system at weigh and inspection stations, Cedillo said.

Last week, El Paso police identified the two women killed in the crash.

Argelia Alvarez, 59; and Martina Maldonado, 52, both of El Paso, were riding in a 2010 Lexus when they were rear-ended by the semi truck Singh was driving.

Medical examiners tell ABC-7 they used DNA samples matched up with family members to identify the women.

Alvarez was driving the Lexus. Maldonado was her passenger.

In a news release, police stated Singh failed to reduce his speed when traffic slowed down, crashing into the car in front of him.

“A loaded truck requires more stopping distance than a car, a lot more stopping distance. If somebody cut in front of him, it takes longer to stop,” Cedillo Jr. told ABC-7.

A truck driver ABC-7 spoke with said driving trough cities like El Paso can be dangerous sometimes. “Nowadays, it seems every time you go through a city there’s construction going on. You have six lanes of traffic going through trying to squeeze into two lanes, it’s really hard,” David Dominguez, of Muleshoe, Texas, said.

Police say although charges have not been filed at this time, Singh can still face various charges. ABC-7 reached out to Singh’s trucking company. We were referred to its attorney, who declined to comment.

Several vehicles were involved in the crash, which led to the complete closure of I-10 East at Sunland Park for more than 12 hours.