The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued an effective shutdown order to California-licensed driver Yakov Zaverukha after he was stopped and cited by Illinois State Police for driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of .308, nearly seven times the legal limit.
Zaverukha was issued that citation March 21, along with a citation for possession of intoxicating beverage while on-duty or driving and failing to retain driver logbooks for the previous seven days, both of which are immediate out-of-service violations. He also received citations for illegal transportation of alcohol and improper lane usage.
Previously, Zaverukha was convicted twice in Connecticut for alcohol-related violations while driving a truck and once in Massachusetts. On Nov. 2, 2012, he was convicted by the state of Connecticut for refusing a breath alcohol test and his CDL was suspended for approximately eight months. On Dec. 12 of the same year, he was again convicted in Connecticut for the same offense, resulting in a 15-month CDL suspension. He had also had his license suspended for a year in 2007 after he was convicted in Massachusetts for multiple violations of DUI while operating a commercial vehicle.
FMCSA said Zaverukha’s shutdown order states his driving history “demonstrates that Zaverukha is unwilling or unable to cease operating a commercial motor vehicle while using alcohol,” adding that his “continued operation of a commercial motor vehicle…puts the motoring public at imminent risk for serious bodily injury or death if not discontinued immediately.”
