OMAHA, Neb. -- KETVs Carol Kloss looked into how a log book violation cost an Omaha trucker his job and a foreign exchange student her life.

On January 21, 2007, independent trucker Fred Miles was driving his 18-wheeler through Pennsylvania when he said a car went speeding by, hit a guard rail, and spun out in front of him.

"I went to the left to try to miss her but car came back. So, I went to the right to try to miss her, and about that time I hit her right in the middle of the car," said Miles.

The car, carrying five foreign exchange students from Singapore, ended up in a ditch.

Authorities said one of the passengers -- Huei Ching Chong -- died a week later from her injuries.

The Pennsylvania State Patrol ticketed the driver of the car for "driving too fast for conditions."

Miles said he received no ticket at the scene.

"The investigating officer also noted in the accident report that there was 'no contributing action' by Miles," Kloss said.

"He said there was nothing you could do," said Miles.

However, Miles said a few weeks later he did receive a traffic citation for a log book violation.

Kloss said investigators determined that Miles had exceeded the federal "hours of service" limit by two hours and 45 minutes.

"I broke a federal rule. That's done every day of the week," said Miles.

Under federal law, the Department of Transportation prohibits truckers from driving more than 11 straight hours, following 10 hours of uninterrupted rest.

"To this day, Fred Miles says his ability to react was not impaired," Kloss said.

Miles said he believes even with a full night's sleep, no truck driver could have avoided that crash.

He said the insurance company for the trucking company he contracted with settled the case out-of-court for an undisclosed amount of money.

However, with this black mark on his record, Miles said he can no longer get a job as a trucker.

"I lost my truck, so it leaves that career dead. I've got to do something different," said Miles.

Philadelphia attorney Slade McLaughlin represented the accident victims.

He told Kloss by telephone that he believes too many truck drivers ignore the limits.

"Those limits are in place for a reason," said McLaughlin. "They're leaving themselves at serious risk for legal exposure. But more importantly, they're risking the safety of all the people driving on the highway like me and you, because the rules are they have to stop driving after a certain period of time and many of them don't."

Miles said he believes he's being blamed for another driver's mistake and that now at the age of 49 he has to go back to school to study electronics.

McLaughlin responded by saying at least Miles has a future.

"My client paid with her life, so in terms of losing your career, I guess that's a better price to pay than losing your life," said McLaughlin.

"I never wanted to hurt anybody," said Miles.

Kloss said Pennsylvania is one of the few states in the nation with a 1 percent liability rule.

"Which means a defendant found only 1 percent liable for the harm can be ordered to pay 100 percent of the damages," said Kloss.