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Texas Jury Orders $104M Payout in Fatal I-40 Crash Involving MVT Driver

An El Paso jury has ordered Mesilla Valley Transportation and one of its drivers to pay $104 million following a wrongful death verdict tied to a 2020 collision on Interstate 40 in Oklahoma. The jury determined that MVT driver and company trainer Juan Garcia fell asleep at the wheel of a tractor-trailer, causing the vehicle to drift onto the shoulder and strike a parked box truck. Co-driver Orlando Robles, who was resting in the sleeper berth, was killed in the impact. The trial began June 30 in El Paso, according to a press release issued by the plaintiffs' law firm. Robles' son received $20 million in compensatory damages and $7.5 million in punitive damages, with the remaining award distributed to other surviving family members including his widow, mother and daughters. MVT, a Las Cruces-based carrier operating more than 1,600 trucks, has not publicly commented on the verdict.