COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Records connected to a commercial truck driver charged in a deadly interstate construction-zone crash are raising new questions about how safety information is tracked and shared — and why a previous crash does not appear in his federal profile.
Weekend video from the Ohio Department of Transportation shows what prosecutors describe as commercial truck driver Modou Ngom of Columbus ramming into stopped interstate construction traffic at a speed of 70 miles per hour, with no effort to brake or take evasive action before the chain-reaction crash. A family of three was killed.
A search of Ngom's profile with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shows he owns his own truck and semi-trailer, both 20 years old or older, and both registered to his apartment on James Road. His federal profile also lists a company phone number.
But ABC6 Investigates found the federal profile's crash history appears to be incomplete. In the last 24 months, it lists Ngom as being in one tow-away crash out of Champaign County in which no one was hurt. However, an Ohio driving history record obtained by ABC6 News also includes a separate crash in Delaware County in May 2024.
According to that crash report summary, Ngom's equipment failed and his drive shaft struck the car behind him. The second driver told ABC6 Investigates by phone Wednesday that his car was totaled in that crash and that Ngom said he was not paying for damages.
That Delaware County crash and Ngom's equipment failure was not included as part of the 11 violations listed with federal regulators since January of 2024. Those violations include low tire tread and an inoperable turn signal collected from two roadside inspections.
ABC6 Investigates went to Ngom's apartment Wednesday. No one answered the door. However, a card left in the door indicated someone from the Ohio Public Utilities Commission had been there.
PUCO told ABC6 that the commission has been asked to conduct a compliance investigation of Ngom on behalf of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. If investigators find he is not in compliance, PUCO said his business could be shut down.
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ABC6 Investigates asked PUCO representatives about the missing unsafe vehicle crash and conviction in 2024 and whether an investigation should have been conducted then. PUCO said that could be something that comes up.