Courtesy: The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal safety investigators said a tractor-trailer truck driver who slammed his rig into a line of cars stopped on a stretch of Oklahoma highway last year, killing 10 people, was likely suffering from fatigue.
Investigators told the National Transportation Safety Board the 76-year-old driver most likely had five hours of sleep before beginning his workday on June 26, 2009. He left Springfield, Mo., just after 3 a.m. By the time he was 90 miles northeast of Tulsa, the accident site, he had been on the road for more than 10 hours.
The driver also suffered from sleep apnea, which causes abnormal pauses in breathing and can prevent restful sleep.
The board is meeting to determine the cause of the accident and make safety recommendations.
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