Demetrice Reeves and his trainee had been together for over four weeks when the incident happened. Reeves said the trainee was doing well and he trusted him to be safe, but, like a good trainer, Reeves kept an eye on him. That watchful gaze may have saved both of their lives.
Reeves and his trainee were on I-74 in Illinois when the incident occurred. His trainee had told him the day before that he wasn’t feeling well, so Reeves had been keeping a closer watch on him than usual.
“After a break, when we were back on the road, he began slowing down as we approached a curve,” Reeves said. “As I looked over at him, his head suddenly flopped to the left, and he went into seizure-like convulsions with his hand locked onto the steering wheel.”
Acting fast, Reeves grabbed on to the wheel and held the truck steady. With his other hand, he pulled on the brakes to slow the truck down. With the trainee’s foot off of the accelerator and the brakes engaged, Reeves pulled the 260-pound man down onto the floor in between the seats. He then climbed over him into the driver’s seat and brought the truck to a stop safely on the side of the highway.
From there, he called 911 and the trainee was taken to a local hospital.
Well done, driver!
bet it will be listed as sleep apnea related
As a driver instructor I get what he was going through they teach us to all ways be on the lookout for things such as that especially here in Dallas Tx in those hot hot summers well done driver
The trainee gave him a warning telling him he didn’t feel well so it shouldn’t of got that far. Should of just took over til he felt better instead of almost dying for extra miles.
Good story, a follow up would be nice to find out what caused the seizure and, does the trainee ever qualify for a CDL? It’s an issue that is in the back of my head from time to time, except, most of us aren’t team driving. As you get older, you realize, stuff like this can happen to you.
Well said. We all have a tendency to forget that each day we wake up and see the sun means we are one day older and those days begin to add up quicker once you pass fifty.
I’m the trainer mentioned, the trainee claims to have never had anything like this before.He actually went back to the hub to see the doctor and tried to lie about the whole incident(too much to write about the details) and let’s just say ,at the end of the day he disappeared when he was told to go see some specialists. And from what I’ve been told, he does not have a CDL anymore
The trainer did what he had to do in order to save his own rear and maybe avoided a catastrophe which could’ve endangered other participants to the traffic. I don’t know why doing what you’re supposed to do confers the status of “hero” these days, but anyway, nothing and no one is perfect in this world and there is no such thing as 100% safety and security !!!
Crap happens and we all have an expiration date assigned to each one of us. No one leaves this world alive and the time and date is an enigma for most of as if not all !
God Bless and get your life in order with the Almighty while you still have time ! That means today, right now !
And that will be the last time that trainee will ever drive!! He will lose his medical card which will then suspend his commercial license!!
Yep that’s the sad truth, I was once a truck driver in my home country Australia & lost my license due to the nearly exact same deal.
Epileptic seizure = no license.
A very hard pill to swallow!
Of course for one year and after that doctor will decide if he’s ok to drive or no. ( that’s what happened to my fellow driver even tho he had heart attack
Well done driver you saved a drivers life.
Got to make these guys run in place for 1 to 3 min. And then check blood pressure.
They did that to me many years ago, and my BP was border like of where it shouldn’t be.
Either he had high BP
Or epileptic.
I’m just saying.
Can’t remember what it was like going on a training mission but it’s pretty stressful I’m sure.Check email out trainers.what if you were starting out the window when it happens.
You were lucky don’t be patting your self on the back.Thank the heavens instead.
“Wasn’t feeling well the day before”…How about the day he drove ? If you’re not feeling well you shouldn’t be driving. Good remark from the Trainer to cover his ass. And good job avoiding an accident too. But I wonder why it was reported the man weighed 260 lbs. ?
i thank you for good driving guys.keep avoiding each and everytime
Thank God for trainer awareness, So sad the young man in training will miss out on a OTR career. At least he has a life to continue with medical help. Praying he is well and a speedy recovery!
260 pounds. Possibly from his heart . No one really knows when good old cholesterol clogs an artery or two let’s pray he is safe and not suffering that.
The article doesn’t mention the driver’s height or any other info about him. I hope you’re not a doctor doing diagnosis from your computer. I’m 5’9, 260, and my doctor tells me I have no health problems. The extra weight is muscle I “found” at the gym and enjoy carrying around.
Rofl yeah right. 5’9 260 you are overweight period. Cause I would bet the 1k in my back pocket right now you don’t look like rich pena or any other unhealthy bodybuilder.
He was about 5’7 and it definitely wasnt muscle…..just saying
And how many drivers on the road are ready to pass out
According to the DOT a drive can not drive or be required to drive if he or she is ILL or Fatigued. The trainer should of had the student sit in the jump seat and the trainer should have been driving till the student started to feel better. The trainer’s actions at the time of the seizure are to be praised but because he had some kind of warning I don’t think he should be considered a Highway hero. If he had no warning of his student felling ill then then I would consider him a Highway hero.
Yes Jude but we can’t always eat right your a fortunate driver to be in great health. No height was listed or cause. Although dizziness spinning of head pressure on head and veins enlarged in hands when down nausea legs and arms feel way to heavy and slurring jaw pain ringing in ears extreme ice cube block cold in center of back heart beating too fast or irregular skin tone changing finger nails bluish or purple . Chest pains sharp or just small stomach pain due to not enough blood flowing to the stomach heart burn consistently. Pain in jaw sholder arm leg usually on left side. There’s more. EMT 4 Fire Dept. Search and Rescue thank you .
Mr. Godfrey sounds correct by symptoms.
That trainee should of refused to let him in the truck . Ignoring the man’s symptoms . People could have been killed