SACRAMENTO — The California Highway Patrol on Friday suspended the hazardous materials license of the company that owns the gasoline tanker involved in a crash and fire that caused a Bay Area freeway ramp to collapse.

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 that was completed May 16.

Two out of three Sabek trucks had brake, suspension and other maintenance problems that made them unfit for the road, CHP Capt. Rob Patrick 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. Patrick, commander of the CHP’s commercial vehicle section, said inspections are still ongoing at the company’s other two newly discovered facilities in Dixon and Martinez. Additional violations are possible, he said.

Calls to Sabek by The Associated Press were not immediately returned Friday. The company delivers gas to its 20 or so San Francisco Bay area gas stations.

A gasoline tanker owned by the company overturned April 29 on an interchange about a half-mile from the Bay Bridge’s 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 was reopened Thursday night 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.

Patrick said Sabek has appealed. Under state law, the CHP will schedule a hearing within 10 days to let the company defend itself.

Regardless of whether Sabek is allowed to haul gas again, the company will face increased scrutiny for at least the next four years because of its failing safety record this month, Patrick said.

“We’d like to let them present their defense and go from there,” he said. “But we will be looking at this company closely.”

Yet the way the small intrastate carrier apparently operated at least part of its trucking fleet for years — out of sight of state inspectors — raised new questions about California’s truck-inspection program.

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 truck was rated for.

The driver of the truck also had a lengthy criminal past and had his license previously suspended or revoked, but state officials redacted the reason why in records obtained by the AP.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, but the incident has prompted an inquiry from Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California. She asked the Department of Homeland Security to create tougher guidelines to ensure truckers transporting gasoline and other hazardous materials are fit for the job.

State lawmakers also have begun reviewing the regulations governing trucks carrying hazardous materials.