Truck driver in Colorado gas station crash charged, trucking company has history of safety violations

CBS Colorado is investigating a trucking company involved in a crash at a gas station in the southern part of the Denver metro area last month.

Littleton police say the driver behind the wheel of a semi-truck that crashed into a QuickTrip on West Belleview Avenue and smashed a car against a wall is facing careless driving charges. The person inside the car survived.

According to the police department, the driver -- 33-year-old Daniel Torrez -- told investigators on scene that he believed the brakes failed. Police now say the truck had no mechanical issues.

CBS Colorado has learned Torrez was issued a summons just a few days before the crash into the gas station for driving a commercial vehicle with a suspended license, adding to the trucking company he works for's already tainted safety history, including ties to a separate trucking accident in January of 2017.

The images of that crash were shared widely online and caught Noah Williams' attention, triggering painful memories and taking him back to the day his own life changed forever.

"Just knew right away," Williams told CBS Colorado. "Just looked at the truck."

In January 2017, a semitruck owned and operated by American Demolition with defective brakes slammed into the back of Williams' truck.

"The truck came barreling down on us, pushed the bed of the truck into the cab," Williams recalled.

Williams checked on his sister, who told him she was OK.

"She looked at me. I remember looking down, and I tried to move my legs and couldn't do it," he said.

Williams was paralyzed in the crash. Today, he relies on a wheelchair and his service dog, Buddy, to navigate daily life.

"It was so bad my back broke into fragments, and I'm missing 6 inches of my spinal cord in my back," Williams explained.

Williams sued American Demolition and uncovered years of safety issues. The complaint included Colorado State Patrol inspection records showing 19 notices in the years leading up to the crash -- most related to brake problems.

The court document also details an after-crash inspection that found the truck that hit Williams was overloaded, and that four of its ten brakes were defective.

Stephen Burg, Williams' attorney with Burg Simpson Law, says the more they investigated, the more issues they uncovered.

"When we were digging into this case, we sort of discovered there were numerous companies all with similar ownership," Burg told CBS Colorado.

CBS Colorado confirmed with the owner of American Demolition that CDS Transport -- the company involved in the March crash -- is run by the same family.

In the recent gas station crash, the driver again told police his brakes failed.

A West Metro Fire spokesperson said the outcome could have been much worse depending on the direction the truck had been traveling.

CBS Colorado used the U.S. Department of Transportation number posted on the truck's door to search for federal motor carrier records, and found the company's safety registration was last updated in 2022.

Inspection records from the Colorado State Patrol show CDS Transport trucks have received numerous violations since 2023, including drivers without valid commercial driver's licenses, missing or defective brake warning devices and damaged or defective brakes.

In a statement, a representative for CDS Transport says "Safety is a core priority, and the company is committed to maintaining effective safety practices."

Records obtained by CBS Colorado show American Demolition Incorporated also had a truck inspected in December 2025 that was taken out of service due to a missing or inoperable breakaway braking system. The driver had no valid commercial driver's license and could not meet the English language proficiency requirement.

Williams ultimately settled his lawsuit with American Demolition before going to trial. He had never spoken publicly about his experience until now. He says he hopes sharing his story will lead to change.

"I have always wanted to do what I could to make sure this didn't happen to someone, but I was limited, and unfortunately it happened again." Williams said.