An El Paso jury has awarded $104 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against Mesilla Valley Transportation (MVT) and one of its drivers, concluding they were responsible for a fatal crash that killed co-driver Orlando Robles in 2020.
According to a press release issued Thursday by the plaintiffs’ law firm, the verdict followed a trial that began June 30 in El Paso, Texas.
Jurors found that MVT driver and company trainer Juan Garcia fell asleep while driving a tractor-trailer on Interstate 40 in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, causing the truck to drift onto the shoulder and strike a parked box truck displaying emergency flashers. Robles, who was asleep in the tractor’s sleeper berth, was killed in the collision.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Robles’ family. Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C. represented Robles’ son, while other surviving family members—including Robles’ wife, estate, mother and daughters—were represented separately.
According to the law firm, the jury awarded Robles’ son $20 million in compensatory damages and $7.5 million in punitive damages for the loss of his father. The overall verdict totaled $104 million for the surviving family.
“Professional truck drivers and trucking companies have a responsibility to keep fatigued drivers off the road. When that responsibility is ignored, families pay the price,” Alejandro Acosta III, a partner at Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro and attorney representing Robles’ son, said in a statement.
Mesilla Valley Transportation had not publicly responded to the verdict at the time of publication. FreightWaves has reached out to the company for comment and will update this story if a response is received.
Headquartered in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and heavily operating out of El Paso, MVT is one of the largest privately-owned truckload carriers in the U.S., operating a fleet with over 1,600 trucks and 5,000+ trailers.
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