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“Suicide by truck” * USA: Dangerous motorists
-- This is the fourth and final installment in the series, examining the largely undocumented incidents of pedestrians and four-wheelers who choose speeding trucks as an instrument of suicide. It also looks at how these suicides and suicide attempts affect innocent truckers, many of whom struggle with guilt or horrific memories... John Jaikes of Nanticoke, Pa., an owner-operator with 26 years of driving under his belt, had been through hard times that included bouts of cancer... Yet nothing prepared him for what happened July 21, 2013, at 1:10 p.m... He was unloaded and driving on a two-lane road when he saw an oncoming pickup truck moving erratically. He remembers wishing the pickup would stay in its lane. Then the pickup’s driver turned his truck straight toward Jaikes’ Kenworth... “You do what you are trained to do if something is coming into your lane,” he says. “You grip the steering wheel and maintain your lane” ... The pickup slammed into him, jackknifing Jaikes’ truck. The pickup driver survived with serious injuries. The police and witnesses believed it was a suicide attempt, though the driver claimed he fell asleep...
... Jaikes had some injuries, but his truck was destroyed, and insurance barely covered the loss. Jaikes’ log books, phone records and equipment were scrutinized. Even his neighbors were interviewed about his character and driving habits. The police and the tow-truck driver reassured him there was nothing he could have done differently... “I forgave him but still don’t understand why someone would want to use an innocent trucker to cause their own death,” he says. He dealt with the emotional issues, but he’s still petrified when he sees a vehicle veer out of its lane... Though Jaikes was cleared of all wrongdoing, his insurance rates went up. “I was his victim,” he says. He says he may consider using a dashcam for the evidence it could provide in such instances... Click here to see other stories from the series
Nanticoke, Pa, USA - Overdrive Online, by Carolyn Magner - August 13, 2015
Labels: dangerous drivers, dangerous motorists
posted by Unknown @ 7:08 AM
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