SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has suspended the hazardous materials license of the company that owns the gasoline tanker involved in a crash and fire that caused a San Francisco Bay area freeway ramp to collapse, according to the Associated Press. The action against Sabek Transportation of South San Francisco was taken after state inspectors found 36 safety violations at the company’s main trucking facility in King City during an inspection completed May 16. Sabek delivers gas to its 20 or so San Francisco Bay area gas stations.

Two out of three Sabek trucks had brake, suspension, and other maintenance problems that made them unfit for the road, the report said. Inspectors also discovered that Sabek has been operating three previously unknown trucking facilities in Northern California. The facilities are supposed to be reported to the state so they can be inspected every two years.

An inspection of one of those terminals, in San Jose, also resulted in safety violations and an overall “unsatisfactory” ranking. Inspections are still ongoing at the company’s other two newly discovered facilities in Dixon and Martinez.

A gasoline tanker owned by the company overturned April 29 on an interchange about a half-mile from the Bay Bridge toll plaza leading to San Francisco. The resulting fire caused a ramp connecting San Francisco to its eastern suburbs to collapse onto an interstate below. The ramp has since been reopened after causing area motorists and stores an estimated $4 million to $6 million a day in extra commuting costs and lost business.

The suspension marks the first time California authorities have pulled a gasoline carrier’s license since the state enacted a law 15 years ago giving them the authority to do so, according to the Associated Press. Sabek has appealed the decision.

Before this month, Sabek was cited at least six times for safety violations since August 2006, but the company had maintained a “satisfactory” safety rating from the CHP. Documents previously obtained by The Associated Press from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also showed the Sabek truck involved in last month’s accident had been cited 27 times in roadside inspections since 2004. The citations were for violations ranging from unsafe brakes and tires to carrying more gasoline than the trucks rating allowed.