Bokay Nursery and its owner were convicted of negligence in a 2005 crash that killed a worker when the brakes failed on a company truck.
Jeff Nilsen was convicted in Monterey County Superior Court of felony violations of the state labor code for failing to properly maintain the company’s trucks and provide adequate safety training for its workers, a prosecutor said Thursday.
Alfonso Tapia, 50, of Salinas died Feb. 17, 2005, after the brakes failed on a Bokay Nursery truck he was driving on steep Laureles Grade Road and the truck struck a tree.
District attorney’s office and California Highway Patrol investigations determined Nilsen and his company knew of difficulties with the truck’s air brakes but did not fix the problem.
Nilsen faces felony probation and up to a year in Monterey County Jail. He and Bokay Nursery also must pay $50,000 to cover the cost of ongoing training, maintenance and civil penalties for engaging in unfair business practices, the district attorney’s office said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 16, 2006. Read the original PDF.