The mother of a Monroeville man killed last year when his SUV crashed into two tractor-trailers she said were improperly parked on the berm on Interstate 79 is suing the trucks’ drivers and owners in federal court.

Kathy Brown, of Edgewater, Fla., filed the suit on Wednesday in Pittsburgh on behalf of her son, Travis Brown, who was killed Oct. 15. He was 37.

The defendants include drivers Jagdish Dhillon and Joginder Gill of Fleetex Transport; as well as Gurdeep Singh, of Gigg Express Inc. and Sheru Dillon Transport.

All of the defendants, the lawsuit said, are based in Ontario, Canada.

Attempts to reach Fleetex and Gigg Express on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Contact information for the drivers was not immediately available.

Brown was driving his Ford Explorer SUV northbound on the interstate near mile marker 50.2 in South Fayette around 3:09 a.m. when he struck a tractor-trailer illegally parked on the shoulder of the highway just inches off the road, according to the lawsuit.

That tractor-trailer, operated by Fleetex, had been stopped on the shoulder since about 2:50 a.m., the lawsuit said, as its team drivers, Dhillon and Gill, were switching positions.

That truck, according to the lawsuit, was parked behind another tractor-trailer, operated by Singh, which was also illegally on the berm, according to a Pennsylvania State Police crash report.

Singh had been in the sleeper section, since 11:30 p.m., the lawsuit said.

The complaint alleges that the drivers from both tractor-trailers failed to place any warning devices behind their vehicles for passing motorists.

Just after 3 a.m., Brown’s vehicle struck the left rear of the Fleetex tractor-trailer and then spun into the rear of the other one.

Brown died at the scene. A passenger was seriously injured.

The lawsuit includes claims for wrongful death, as well as negligence and recklessness against all defendants. It also accuses Sheru Dhillon Transport and Gigg Express of negligent hiring, retention and supervision.

Brown is survived by his parents, as well as two daughters.