Well they're definitely not going to mention it on the mainstream media if he doesn't speak English but here's an indication:
Yeah they will, and they did.
He was able to speak "limited" English, but the chose to use a translator. I'm sure they did that to make sure there was no confusion in what he was being charged for. The last thing they want to do is go through the entire process and have it thrown out because he was unable to understand what he was facing.
All that said, I still feel like the guy had no idea what he was doing in the mountains, or possibly driving a truck in general. I don't think he did anything out of selfishness, I get the feeling he went into a complete panic and didn't know what to do.
As for the runaway truck ramp, he probably had no clue what it was. I didn't know what one was until I started driving, and given the assumption that he could probably at best recognize a few English words, had no clue what the ramp was for either.
It's almost like he got the keys, sent out west, then found himself coming back through the mountains where he had no business being.
If anything, it should finally be understood that we cannot be giving people licenses when they can't speak, understand, and read basic English.
It should also be understood that these driving exams taken to get a license should be taken seriously, because we all know they are not. When I surrendered my license for a while, I got it back by paying a small amount of money to rent a small single axle day cab with 27 foot trailer behind it. I was taken on the exact route that I would be given my test on and walked through the entire procedure. I did all of this in an automatic (which I understand now causes restrictions in our license, but it didn't back then). A friend of mine has been studying to get his CDL for a short time now. He just went the same route as I mentioned. He drove to a place that offered a two day class, which basically means renting a small truck to take the test. Tested out in a simple 7 speed single axle daycab with a short trailer behind it. I'm sure, like in my case, the examiner knows the instructor and just basically passes people through without paying much attention.
Obviously, this guy is likely headed to jail. I'm not sure I agree with it, but can't say I would stand to oppose it either. Only he knows where his head was when all this happened. I don't think he was putting his life before others, I simply thing he totally lost it in the mountains.
I do think that those responsible for him getting licensed and sending him off in a truck need to be held just as accountable as he is being held. We need to put a stop to half ass companies being allowed to employ inexperienced drivers and sending them out completely unsupervised in areas where they need to be taught how to properly handle a truck. We need to put a stop to CDL licenses being handed out to people who are not ready to operate a truck safely in all climates and regions that they will be operating in.