Driver accused of crashing into I-75 overpass had license revoked

Southbound lanes in Sarasota County will be closed at night; it isn't clear if Bonnie Ramsingh's employer knew he was not permitted to be driving a dump truck.

By SHELBY WEBB

Just a month before being accused of driving his elevated dump truck into an Interstate 75 overpass, Bonnie Ramsingh was arrested in Port Charlotte on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, with a blood-alcohol content nearly twice the level at which Florida drivers are considered intoxicated.

Ramsingh's regular license was revoked after the Nov. 17 arrest, and he was not legally permitted to be driving the dump truck that authorities say he slammed into the Ponce De Leon Boulevard overpass early Wednesday.

The 56-year-old North Miami resident was scheduled to be arraigned today in Charlotte County in the DUI case, but that hearing was postponed because he was in the Sarasota County jail on charges of fleeing the scene of an accident with property damage and driving without a commercial driver's license. His bail was set at $620.

The Florida Highway Patrol said alcohol was not suspected in the crash that happened at 2:35 a.m. Wednesday and caused major traffic jams on southbound I-75 throughout the day.

The southbound lanes of I-75 between River Road and Sumter Boulevard reopened Wednesday, and will remain open during daylight hours until Sunday. The 9-mile stretch of interstate will be closed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. tonight, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings as workers repair the overpass.

When the lanes are closed, drivers will be detoured to exit at River Road and directed to U.S. 41. Drivers can get back on the interstate by following the detour signs to Sumter Boulevard and following them to the I-75 southbound ramp.

Ponce De Leon Boulevard, which runs over the highway, will be closed between Hornbuckle Boulevard and Sago Palm Road in North Port for at least a week.

Dave Parks, a Florida Department of Transportation spokesman, said that this is only the second time in his eight years that he can recall the DOT dealing with a raised truck smashing into an overpass.

“It seems fairly rare,” Parks said, “especially when you consider the number of trucks traveling the interstate.”

When his truck bed smashed into the overpass, FHP troopers said, the entire bed became detached and stood vertically in the middle of the road.

Ramsingh kept driving for about three-quarters of a mile before he stopped near the Sumter Boulevard exit, walked nearly two and a half miles to a 7-Eleven store and bought a soda, police report.

He never called police, but North Port Police Department officers caught up with him in the convenience store.

Last month, he was pulled over in Charlotte County after authorities say he tried to make a U-turn. Instead, he hit the median, crossed three lanes of traffic into the far right lane, then over-corrected and began driving in between the center lane and the right lane.

Court records allege that he failed multiple field sobriety tests and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.145 and 0.137 percent after he was taken to the Charlotte County jail.

His regular license was revoked and he was given a “Business Purposes Only” license, which permits someone charged with DUI to drive to and from their place of employment. But he was not permitted to drive at work or to drive work equipment.

Questions remained today about the company that hired Ramsingh as a subcontractor and whether it was aware of Ramsingh's arrest and restricted driving privileges.

The DOT awarded a $35 million contract to Colombian-based Conalvias Construction to widen the 9-mile stretch of I-75 between exits 181 and 182 from two lanes to three lanes. Work on the project began in October.

Debbie Tower, a public information officer for the DOT, said contractors for interstate projects are selected after a final design for a project is nearly completed.

The DOT then advertises the project, waits for bids from contractors on their list of qualified bidders and then almost always selects the company that submits the lowest price for the work.

Qualified bidders must be bonded and meet other safety criteria. Tower said the nationality of the contracting company does not play a factor in the decision.

Conalvias Construction's website said this project was the company's first work on any stretch of Interstate in the United States. The company only began offering services in the United States three years ago, but is well established in Panama, Colombia and Peru.

Ramsingh was not an employee of Conalvias. He was subcontracted by the company to truck supplies to and from the construction sites.

Tower said her agency does not oversee subcontractors because they are not hired by the state.

“Our interest is with the prime contractor,” Tower said. The prime contractor “is the one who is going to hire subcontractors.”

There are no statewide qualification requirements for subcontractors, like Ramsingh and his company.

Ramsingh owns a company called B & D Trucking Services based out of a residential address in North Miami, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation website. The company's mailing address is another residential address in Port Charlotte.

The website said the company has only one employee and one truck, and became legally eligible to operate in 2003.

Calls to a number listed for the company were not returned.

Parks said the damaged overpass will not delay the highway widening project's completion in the summer of 2017.

“It's an unfortunate accident,” Parks said. “But I don't have any less confidence that (Conalvias) will be able to get the job done.”