A trucker was passing through Radnor Township in Pennsylvania early Thursday morning when he allegedly failed to notice quite a few things. First, he failed to notice a 10’ clearance sign for an overpass. Then he allegedly failed to notice when his trailer was ripped apart when it hit the overpass. Then the driver drove for another three miles before he allegedly noticed that his truck was on fire and pulled over.
The unidentified trucker was driving on King of Prussia Road at around 1:00am on Thursday morning when his trailer hit the overpass for a regional rail line. According to the local ABC news station, the truck was “traveling at a high rate of speed” at the time of the accident.
When the truck passed under the overpass, the trailer was violently ripped apart, scattering debris and the load of plants the truck was hauling across the road. The top of the cab was also crushed, and pieces of the trailer that were still attached to the truck were precariously dragging behind.
King of Prussia Rd in the area of Radnor Station is closed due to a tractor trailer that struck the bridge & ripped off the trailer! @6abc pic.twitter.com/tGQNcCPJ0b
— Chuck Purnell (@ChuckP6abc) November 16, 2017
Despite the severity of the accident, the driver claims not to have noticed. He drove another three miles before his vehicle caught fire.
The driver of this truck drove 3 miles before stopping on Lancaster Ave & Airdale Rd after striking an overpass in Radnor Twp where the trailer was ripped off @6abc pic.twitter.com/429HCqy5zp
— Chuck Purnell (@ChuckP6abc) November 16, 2017
Rail traffic along the overpass and vehicle traffic along the road were both reopened by 8:00am.
Source: usnews, lancasteronline, mainlinemedianews, 6abc, delcotimes
Really? Do we really have this type of human breathing? All I can say this is one stupid idiot…He must be from Texas because the walking brain dead does exist in the DFW area.
Drugs obviously involved. It is next to impossible to not notice a speed bump let alone ripping the majority of a dry van trailer into pieces. Was this vehicle stolen?
If only we had mandatory Elogs & Speedlimiters we could avoid stupid wrecks like this!(sarc)
We will see A LOT MORE of these kinds of things if elogs goes thru. All the real drivers are quitting because of all the big bro BS.
Are u serious to make a stupid an not educated statement like that!!! E-logs nor paper logs have nothing to do with this driver not paying attention or maybe he was using his google maps to find a short cut which seems to be getting more & more inexperienced drivers into situations. But to keep going is just ignorance.
Tom, ‘IZ’ finished his statement with (sarc) which is short for Sarcasm… which you obviously took at face value and then proceeded to bash him for spreading ignorance. WOW!
How ironic / moronic is that?
What IZ actually said was all the regulations, mandates, and controls in the world will not prevent stupidity… Not on the part of politians, the motoring public, carriers or the imbiciles they hire.
He was being sarcastic dude.
What am I? Fried chicken? I ve driven 2.5 millions safe miles AND I m not quitting,I am a real driver,I drive in snow,ice,chains or not,rain,dry,cold warm,white outs,sand storms..slow,fast.
I am not a quitter,I adapt and strive.
Whinners quit,children cry when they don t get their way.
Very well put jay
Indeed…
I’m a real driver to and I’ve driven 25 years without an accident and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let one of those greenhorns kill me in an accident. I’m done.
Me too! Ive got 29yrs , clean mvr, never had an accident but Ive never been so tired and my pay has been cut by $500 wk.
Hahaha. I call into question everything you just said. You sounds like an eld industry troll.
You got that right driver. I have elogs right now and I’m governed. I make all my appointments on time and safely. What a bunch of cry babies.
You probably dont know the difference and take home $500-600 wk. Im used to grossing $1800 or more wk. Not anymore and now Im tired all the time cause I cant stop and rest or take a walk when I want.
Agree driver what have blogs got to do with driver being stupid, sounds to me driver needed blogs so he would have been properly rested.
If it is a pat on the back you require, then tough luck. Like you I drive in all conditions, and have several million miles under my belt. I own 5 trucks of my own now, and all of my drivers (seasoned hands too) are quitting me now that the ELD mandate is about to go into effect.
Big government is sucking this industry dry.
Spot on Mark Condrey I turned 62 yesterday I’ll be done in 4 weeks never dreamed I would be giving it up this soon, but I cant stand being around what passes for truck drivers today.
Im doing the same after 29yrs of safe driving.
Give your drivers to March, they will be begging to drive your trucks with eld.
That’s real but I distinctly remember a old fat orange draft dodging puss pack ramble on and on about draining the swamp. They claim this ELD crap is about public safety. It’s about lowering their labor cost as if we’re going to work for less than we already are. It’s always about their bottom line. How many gov’ts has the U.S. toppled and installed shadow gov’ts just to control that country’s resources ? How many people were killed by police in the U.S within the last 5 yrs yet they tell us this ELD nonsense is about public policy ? Need I go into the gun lobby who are obviously stronger than the trucking industry’s lobby ?
The ELogs would work for most everyone if the dumbass Feds would fix the HOS rules. You can tell the guys that are liking the ELogs are mostly coast to coast big company drivers, what they don’t understand is those of us OO’s that run a local/regional operation is it will completely disrupt our business until something is done with that stupid 14 hr window. Thank God my rig is a 98!!
That was not the point,the government is controlling our work rights
But winners move on to something better, now that’s adapting.
First there needs to be something better to move on too doesn’t there?
Great point, Jay.
Can’t figure out why people go into trucking if most of them earn under $60k. Am a transit bus driver, and many of us, if we work 10-20 hours of o.t. each week, are in the $45k-65k range, and go home every night.- Charles Bevell Bloomington, IN
Zacly!
Bingo!
It doesn t mean I like elogs,I HATE THEM,but Werner Enterprises gave us this crap…YES,it can all be traced to those bastards,running illegally,then put on a leash by DOT,then all went to hell after that…Werner should ve been put out of it s misery back when,but DOT and thr Anti Trucker Association (ATA) gave us this crap as a result.
Elogs or speed limiters would NOT have stopped this accident…BUT NOT TAKING DRUGS WOULD HAVE..if one was tired.. just stiking the low underpass would have been sufficient to catch this guys attention..This was above and beyond tired…tgis is more like METH..
Elogs and speed limiters had nothing to do with this.this was driver error all the way.And how do you NOT know you had just hit the bridge.come on,that driver tried to get away with it by leaving the scene.His CDLs should be permanently revoked
Steven is 100% right and I hope that driver never drives anything again. Does anyone know if he was a legal citizen in our country?
His CDL won’t be revoked, but it might as well be. No one reputable will hire him.- Charles Bevell Bloomington, IN
I agree with you wholeheartedly. That driver is lying his rear end off…pun intended !
Remember this, there’s only 2 types of drivers. Those who are not smart enough to do anything else, and those that love the job and do it with pride and professionalism. He was definitely the first type. Be safe and keep truck!
CDLs? he has more than one?
s = plural.
It’s a Commercial Driver Licence.
CDL
No ‘s’ on the end.
Possessing more than one is illegal.
It truly amazes me how many ignorant people there are that actually say CDLs.
And here we have stupid bashing stupid. lmao
It’s not a matter of IF elogs goes through… e-logs are already a done deal. As of December 18th of this year every commercial vehicle from trash trucks to log trucks to beer trucks need to have e-logs. They’ve given many many extensions over the years and the time has finally come.
I’d say there’s more outlaw drivers quitting than “real drivers” as you say, but that’s good because our roads will be safer with them off-the-roads!
That’s fantasy driver.
I tripped and stubbed my toe. Musta been the elogs. Stop already. I don’t want anyone in my business any more than the rest of the world but elogs aren’t the enemy. HOS for starters. Overbearing regulation. Lack of a united front. Rather than address the real issue all you guys do is b**** about elogs. Ever wonder why this industry hasn’t made any major advancements for drivers, and arguably has gotten worse, in the last 3 decades?
That’s crap we’re not seeing all this because of e-logs although I’m not a fan of e-logs we’re seeing this because of all the idiots they’re putting behind the wheel the inexperience they have the very little amount of time and knowledge that they are receiving in these schools that they are going to that are pumping them out thousands everyday.
EDD Trucking, I think you need a new trailer. I think you need a new truck. I REALLY think you need a PROFESSIONAL driver.
Hahaha…. hit the nail on the head!
What is professional driver? Ive been driving over 43 years and im not a professional driver..or is this just a title that some use to make their job sound more important?
if you get paid to drive you are what they call professional,weather your any good doesn’t matter ,same in sports if you play for money your a pro
WTF
NO COMMENT!! Although E Logs… really. That’s not the problem dude. It’s the solution. The problem is READING WRITING SPEAKING…THE AMERICAN LANGUAGE!!!! Oh and of course REAL PAY!!! Not Burger King pay. Stay safe out there!!
You say elogs are the solution? how could elogs avoid this?
Ya can’t fix stupid! not even with elogs!
No, the problem IS elogs & other regs that are running REAL DRIVERS OUT OF THE INDUSTRY!
You have IDIOTS like this filling the vacuum, so yes the problem is elogs!
I’ll second that emotion!
He was sarcastic. Look it up what it means.
Totally agree! How can you NOT know you hit something like this? Driver must have been blasted out of his mind on drugs!
Hey burger king is paying pretty good now come on.
GREAT post, Frankie!
What is an American and what is their language ? The last time I checked the indigenous people here had multiple languages as well yet they still managed to communicate with each other. As for the “Johnny come lately” settlers/genocidal maniacs ,surfs and kidnapped and enslaved people , they had their own individual languages too and managed to communicate with one another so please enlighten me .
American language? Would that be inglesh? 😂😂😂
I’m gonna take a wild guess and say this guy wears flip-flops and stands on the toilet seat & squats to take a $#!+ then washes his butt AND face with the toilet water. I once heard a guy brush his teeth with toilet water. No lie.
Hard to believe……
Did nobody notice but me the guy was being sarcastic about the whole elog comment?
I did
Some pelple are too dumb to notice sarcasm even when you tell them it’s sarcasm, as this guy did! LOL.
I think it’s far more likely the driver knew exactly what happened when it happened and he panicked; left the scene of the accident while he was mulling over how he was going to explain how that happened as he drove down the road until the debris caught his truck tires on fire and was forced to pull over. Seriously, he’s just lying because playing stupid is better than admitting you’re stupid.
In other words, it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission (kinda)…
It’s still nothing short of brutal, blatant stupidity in the first degree. How in tarnation do you not notice an eye level 10 foot underpass coming up between your eyes…sad.
Oh i bet he did notice it, he probably just didn’t give a s*** because he hated his job!! LoL
I’m just wondering what drugs this non driver was on. Everyone wants to jump on the e-log bandwagon but no one has asked the drug question.
Really?? You hit a 10 foot bridge hard enough to tear your trailer off and don’t notice?
Drugs was the first thing I thought of.. how many days has he been awake??
Yes it’s called driving while asleep – that is imho a lease op (shiny new peet) who was driving while half asleep that’s why driver didn’t notice the sign or the laud crash when they hit or the fact that said driver lost his trailer not until 3 miles did the driver finally wake up enough to notice he was on fire and that something was missing in the rear view mirror…, common you all know it’s true
The driver failed to read and proceed with caution all it would take is a few minutes to observe the signs posted from either side and possibly flashing light indicating up coming low bridge, and to hit the low crossing and not knowing is a bunch of malarkey, the impact had to be felt in the cab, this driver should have read the Atlas apparently this guy had no business behind the wheel, maybe terminate from driving
Probably using GPS, LOL.
DH worked for a company that showed new drivers a low bridge a block from the yard. Told ’em NEVER turn right out of the yard. Yet, a noob seemed to hit that bridge about every month or so. People don’t pay attention.
There is a posted sign before you start driving down King Prussia Hwy of the low clearance.With that said,there is Absolutely No excuse for his actions. I will say it again,his CDLs should be revoked for a minimum of 6 months and complete an English class (if needed).No license until these are completed satisfactorily.
I think he mus thave worked for Swift.
My dedicated group had a driver notice at his first stop that his trailer only had one axel. It fell of somewhere, but he saw nothing. I asked the repair facility when I picked up the renovated trailer how this could have happened. No way of knowing because everything was gone.
Back in 1999 or 2000, when I pulled a flatbed for Werner, I stopped in a little truck stop in upstate New York. There was another Werner truck – a van – getting a new axle put under the trailer. Seems he had run it for some time without checking the grease cups on the trailer, and the police and fire truck chased him for almost 10 miles before he noticed – and that was after the highway patrol car got in front and slowed him down! He apparently never noticed the smoke that had been billowing off the driver’s side bearings for at least 45 minutes, as the police had numerous reports of this, nor the flames for about 5-10 minutes before the police caught up with him and called up the fire truck!
I asked him if he had checked the grease cups on his walkaround – he said it wasn’t HIS job, but the SHOP’S. I so informed him that it most certainly IS his job; it’s part of the pretrip and posttrip inspections!!
Today, I see drivers with their phone up to their face typing and reading, or up to their ear – then they wonder why I blow the horn at them as they are leaving their lane for mine..
As a flatbedder, I look at the tarping and strapping of others. I regularly see tarps that are billowing because the driver just didn’t take the time to use the bungees he had; the tarps are getting ripped by the load because he didn’t pad corners; the back tarp is acting the parachute because he put the back tarp on last, on top of the front tarp! And the sloppiness of the tiedowns flat-out SCARES me at times.. (Imagine a 45,000 lb steel coil tied down by 3 chains!)
Dashboards so crammed with junk that the driver has a hard time seeing out; privacy curtain pulled so far forward he can’t see out the side window; one or both(!) feet on the dash – how do you get a foot on the dash, much less DRIVE that way??
Then these knotheads have wrecks, and we have more regulations thrust upon us…
Swift is looking for good drivers like you. More Pay. More Home Time. And yes, Flatbeds.
Rereading your post, I noticed something – if he lost an entire axle, wouldn’t the airlines to the brakes (at least) have been ripped off? Wouldn’t the air have bled off and the trailer emergency system kick in? If so, the brakes on the remaining axle would have set, and he would have been dragging the brakes HARD – he didn’t notice the increase in power needed to maintain speed? Then there’s the ride, especially if the load was heavy – it would change dramatically and gotten much rougher – I have a dump valve for the back axle of a spread flatbed, and when I dump it for a tight corner, if I don’t switch it off pretty quickly the ride is horrendous!
Unless the whole system was fried, and the trailer was in real bad shape..
It would depend. While I’m not positive whether it’s actually legislated or just good design, there are a number of one-way check valves in air brake systems for just such a reason, so a big air leak doesn’t automatically lead to the rig dynamiting on you. You’d be amazed what can fall off before the brake chambers lose their air charge.
i have seen where the whole hub came off with the tires attached.. happens to alot of drivers in there driving carreer. i havent had it happen but two friends of mine happened to them within a few months of eachother.. one the tire shop didnt tighten the nuts properly.. and with in a few miles it came loose… thankful no one was hurt in both cases…
Well this just goes to show. To little training to be a truck driver and low wages, this is what you get.
I use elogs and guess what I’m accident free.
Elog not the issue people depend on GPS WAY TO MUCH.
I had a trainee that I was asked to work with that couldnt read an atlas to save his life.
The guy didnt know how to route himself or make adjustments in times of low clearences accidents or detours. Thats the real issue out here inadequate training at places like CRST SWIFT AN THESE FLY BY NIGHT TRUCKING SCHOOLS.
NOT TO MENTION DRIVERS TJAT CANT READ OR WRITE ENGLISH
He knew all right, look at the picture of the top of the truck. It tore his truck up to there’s NO WAY he didn’t know.
The guy didn’t realize he had hit the bridge at considerable speed, destroying the roof of his tractor? He didn’t notice the sudden convertible option he just installed? He didn’t feel the JERK when he nailed the bridge??
I wanna know what kind of drugs this dude was on…..
He had to know upon impact. The sudden jolt and the fifth wheel tearing separating from trailer would have violently shook the hell out that cab.
Lost in space, more than likely. You would have to be seriously impaired to even come close to thinking you could get under the bridge.
Any bets his gps told him to go that way?
This has nothing to do with ELD this stupid ass driver was either on drugs or drunk.or he should’ve never had gotten a cdl. .how you do not know you just crash under an overpass.??? And left your trailer behind???
As a driver of 40 years and I don’t even know how many safe miles. This driver knew he hit that bridge. There is no way you cannot know you just took the top off your truck, let alone destroyed your trailer. He was trying to make a run for it, it was 1 am and he figured he’d leave the scene of the accident, but the remaining trailer caught his tires on fire. That is the only reason he pulled over. If it weren’t for the fire, he’d still be going. He’s lying to try and cover his backside, and not a good lie even. When you hire some of these stupid driver’s, that what ya got, a stupid driver. I see them everyday on the road, and in the truckstops. No courtesy and the cowboy mentality is what has brought the regs down on us that we have. Cheating on logs is what is bringing the ELD’s. I have run ELD’s for years. I don’t work cheap, and I don’t work for a company that wants to set you at a shipper or receiver for a day or longer. Time to put your big boy panties on and stop settling for crap sandwiches.
I agree. He already lost his job and so he was heading home.
This so call driver should of been check out for dope or pee test but most likely be verified for fatigue and if it was that he was driving under e-log system he would of been ok but today the new driver generation really do not give a hoot about anything so bring the robot driver.
It will be very dangerous on the road with these no brain drivers.
Better with an emotionless, no common sense robot? Read the story about the bus in Las Vegas. And the driver of the truck was blamed. Sheesh!
I feel it when I hit a pothole… the dude panicked and took off, plain and simple.
this whol story seem fake.
but the debris on the road is real
I suspect that the driver was either sleep driving or under the influence. There is no way a driver could not notice those events otherwise. Blaming Elogs or current regulations is irrational and unsupportable. There is no excuse for reckless, unaware driving of this sort.
I’m in safety and this does not surprise me at all. See clueless drivers doing stuff every week and lying to cover it up.
Could this be a Visa lottery winner??
There are plenty of AMERICAN idiots driving trucks. Stupidity isn’t limited to one nationality, and neither is smarts.
European truck drivers drive all over Europe in countries they don’t speak the language. But, to get a license there, you have to demonstrate an ability to read signs and know laws – even to drive a car. I know this. I did it.
Thank you for your comment Phatkhat.
That’s a very realistic bet
By the way. This incident is the exception to the industry. No excuses but most of us have all done something stupid.
I totally agree with you .
LOL LOL 👍🏽
He did himself a favor trucking sucks no life it sucks the good years from you
Just shows you that some people today…JUST DONT CARE… its all about ME.. From the damage done ..it wasnt tired..good chance it was DRUGS..I bet this guy took the route that his GPS told him to go..and no matter what..that GPS was going to be obeyed…Just like a few weeks ago the guy driving down the boardwalk in ConeyIsland ..because his GPS told him to.. apparently he went about 1/2 mile down the boardwalk in his truck before authorities pulled him over…
That was in Atlantic City NJ.
Let me guess did it say swift on the truck rofl.
CRST basically the same as Swift. Lol
Hey, Rich, here’s a great opportunity for you to quit the dangerous roads of America and go build that wall. I’ll help you: just follow the Rio Grande. That means Grand River in Spanish. Get you and a bunch of good ole boys and start working at $27/hr, see how far the budget lasts.
How much experience did this driver have ? Training? How did he get a licence? Impaired?
This is too ridiculous to even comprehend lol
We had a dump truck on the 401 near Toronto that drove thru an underpass with his box up !
but officer i had to make sure JLo had not sent me a tweet
No way this driver didn’t know what he did. Must have had his head in clouds big time. It seems it’s getting more crazy out there every day. Common sense goes a long ways.
well said
They interviewed the driver and he said he was almost out of drive time and couldn’t stop after the wreck. ELOGS STRIKE AGAIN!!!!
I suppose he is allegedly a truck driver. LOL!
Lol….rips the trailer off and didn’t know it nor knew he hit something….he must be a dead head druggy…feeling nor hearing nothing…lmbo
LOL! driver is now swifts head trainer
Damn it. I hate it when I do that. 13 10 13 10..always getting those confused.
hey driver Schneider and JBHunt are hiring just in case your current employer doesn’t keep you
You guy’s are missing the point. The ELD has nothing to do with the stupidity of this driver. He was not paying attention to the road and he probably was asleep behind tne wheel. Also I prefer paper logs.
Elogs has nothing to do with this crash .It was caused by lack of common sense. First the sign that said 10 ft. was where ? Second he still approached the bridge and third he hit it . Now any one with any experience will feel any unusual bump and start looking for what it was .This guy drove for 3 miles before noticing his trailer was missing and that his ride had damage to it too. He had to be a rookie with under 50 miles under his belt not to notice anything wrong .
That’s the problem here. Racism in amerikkka is an institution woven into every fabric of this country. The comfortability Europeans have maintained as the result of committing genocide and various other acts of human cruelty seems to have been conveniently forgotten.
Hello. If you can duck and get under it, then your truck and trailer should be able to do the same thing. The railroads can afford to build overpasses with enough clearance. What about breakaway overpasses so the truck and trailer are not damaged?
Breakaway overpasses would cause the bridge to be too weak to hold the weight of the train or traffic. And what if there was a parked train on the overpass, wouldn’t it come crashing down?
Unbelievable.
10 to 1 the driver had ear buds and cranked up music in the ears. Big reason not to hear what happened. Attribute the jerk to a pothole. Looking straight ahead, or at the phone, and not in the mirrors could be why the driver didn’t see the mess behind. Finally noticed the flames and stopped.
Y’all keep saying it was a druggie, how about someone with an alcohol dependency?
Either way, I’m praying that they get help with whatever issues they have that contributed to cause this. Even stupidity can be fixed by time. 😂😉
There’s no way the guy didn’t know. Whether he was on drugs or drunk or sober, he knew he messed up. I don’t see how elogs or a governed truck would have prevented this. As far as the rest goes the regulations will only get worse because the real truck driver and noobs a like have and won’t do anything about it. Seriously when was the last time drivers did anything? So old schools blame the new guys and new guys blame the old schools meanwhile it divides us and because of that division the government can do what it wants. You want something done band together stand up and say enough but just crying about accomplishes nothing and only strengthens their grip on us.
Cocaine is a hell of a drug