A driver who stopped when he saw what he thought was a tarp lying on the highway ended up being the one to talk with a fatally wounded fellow trucker in his last moments.
Terry Whittington was headed down I-10 near Fontana, California when he saw an accident ahead. As the ABF Freight driver slowed down, he saw a truck parked on the shoulder and what appeared to be a tarp lying in the roadway. When he got closer however, Whittington saw that what he thought was a tarp was actually a man lying on the road.
Whittington pulled his truck onto the shoulder and ran back to the accident. He could hear the man crying out for help. When he reached him, he saw that his legs were badly crushed. The man was a Roehl Transport driver who had pulled over to inspect his truck, but was hit by a U-Haul that drifted out of its lane.
It appeared to Whittington that the Roehl driver had lost a lot of blood and was in shock, so he put his jacket over the man and stayed talking with him until first responders arrived.
“It was horrible,” Whittington told the Truckload Carriers Association. “I just wanted to sit there and cry.”
Sadly, the Roehl driver never made it to the hospital. The accident took its toll on Whittington as well.
“I kept envisioning that poor man and how he was asking me to help him get up,” said Whittington. “All he did was pull over to check his equipment and now he’s dead. People need to pay more attention when they’re out there on the road.”
Douglas Kirk says
I bet the guy in the u-haul will get off with a shrug. I the truck had hit the u-haul driver there would be no end to the outrage and lawsuits and cries for a prison term
Clark blasdel says
Your exactly right on that!
MrYowler says
In all likelihood, they’ll never figure out which U-haul it was, or who the driver was, to prosecute. They certainly would not have, had the Roehl driver died alone, unable to tell anyone what had happened.
Mrs. C says
They’re going to say the driver should’ve found a safe place to pull off and that he shouldn’t have been there in ther 1st place. Smh! Rest in peace driver!!🙏🤲
Timothy Hardin says
Absolutely correct!!!
kenners says
This is exactly why I will not pull the over to do a load check on the side of the road. I won’t put triangles out if I break down nothing it’s ridiculous that these people truckers included can’t take their eyes off of their phones just long enough to drive their car down the road.
Barton Wayne Van Buskirk says
Well life lestens hit hard stay off the side of the road and when you do better put out your triangles that’s why they are in your truck
See people pull off the road all the time for no reason .
Rob says
Triangles won’t stop a drifting vehicle.
Running flatbed, step deck or lowboys means you stop as soon as you can if you notice a problem, apparently the issue was of enough concern to the driver that he stopped on the shoulder instead of risking loosing something.
If he wouldn’t have stopped right away and had part of the load fell off people’s would bitch because he didn’t stop imediatly.
Damned if you do damned if you don’t
Timothy Hardin says
Very true too.
David H says
so if you check your brakes after a decent down I-70 , you get your triangles out?
Did you even read the story?
” pulled over to inspect his truck, but was hit by a U-Haul that drifted out of its lane.”
Do you know what drifted out of its lane means?
Triangles would have place a magical barrier between idiot drivers and him?
mousekiller says
There is always a reason. Some you may not agree with but always a reason.
inaNYminet says
Ok if they are so busy texting of distracted that they drift off into the side of the road, what good are your triangles going to do?
The damn truck is huge compared to triangles and they couldn’t even see that. I don’t like putting those damn things but it is required by law in states. When I doput them out you can damn well better believe I never take my eyes off that oncoming traffic even walking back to the truck.
Jeff says
Sad to see these kinds of things. It’s why I usually pull off somewhere that traffic is not around so much for. Kinda like pulling onto an on ramp rather than an off ramp. I hope the uhaul driver was there and prosecuted accordingly.
MrYowler says
Where there is little traffic, few people are likely to see you dying in the road, as well. Low traffic areas have both advantages and disadvantages. They are also less likely to be well-lit… :-/
Walter says
That a terrible comment poor man just doing his job what should be said we all need pay more attention .
I send my prayers to the family.
Bryan Edwards says
You’re right jeff , see it more and more . Stay off the shoulder of the highway unless absolutely necessary. Tragic lesson to learn.
Scott says
and when necessary, don’t walk on driver side of truck when vehicles are in the right lane.
Julia says
Sad tragedy. The driver may have just got out the truck and didn’t have time to get the triangles before he was hit. The problem is that some people are so busy doing multiple things while driving that their full attention is not on the road. When possible, move over 1 lane when you see any vehicle stopped in the side of the road.
TellTheTruth says
Stop texting and driving.
Mike C. says
be ready in season and out of season because you never know when its going to be your turn.
Austin Ford says
It is getting beyond ridiculous how much danger U-haul’s and motorhomes cause on the roads. I see it every day, people behind the wheel of a u-haul or motorhome that can’t drive them. It’s funny how a commercial driver has to go through continual training and maintain a CDL so they can put food on the table, but they will let anyone drive a U-haul or 45 foot diesel pusher motorhome without a single minute of training.
Lou says
How many motorhomes do you see where the driver is so short he is almost looking through the steering wheel.
tanner weston says
Absolutely driver. We as professionals need to lobby action be taken up in Washington DC to come up with some kind of training for these so called vacationers speeding down the highway in those fun vehicles.
inaNYminet says
Speeding…. Ha, I wish they could speed. Truth be known, most of them barely go over the minimum limit half the times.
Timothy Hardin says
VEEEEEEEERY TRUE!
VAL says
So true!
Ivan Konstantinov says
This is incredibly sad, I hope Terry Whittington was the right guy, who himself had it right with Jesus, and could tell the right thing to do, at that moment, to the injured… Never forget, when this life is over, it’s only a start unraveling…
tanner weston says
I believe that GOD chose that driver to comfort him in his last moments in this world. No one should die alone. Especially in this way of life as a professional truck driver.
Ken says
That is so sad, I was tearing up reading about it, I used to work for Roehl and majority of them were good guys and gals,, that ABF driver did a great thing and god saw it, at least the driver didn’t die alone. RIP driver and god bless you Terry Wittington
Timothy Hardin says
Angels everywhere…
Grim Reaper says
The report didn’t say weather the darn U-Haul driver even stopped, wouldn’t Terry have mentioned it?! It’s not just u-hauls or motor coaches, more & more someone is struck & the other driver takes off! A fair amount are obvious to what they just did!!!!
Stay safe brothers
Juan Robledo says
Apparently the Move Over Law doesn’t apply to California drivers or the idiot who hit and ran over this poor man, the lanes are narrow and tight, but that’s no reason the driver of that U-Haul who hit this man doing his job failed to move over and stop and render aid, hopefully the law catches up with this lowlife and faces the full extent of the law
Sara says
Blessings to his family. I hope the Uhaul driver pays for it. You know he knew he ran over something. And he probably saw the driver he hit.
tanner weston says
He didn’t stop because I believe because of the hatred the public has for us professional truck drivers.
I pray that there was a highway camera near by.
Kali Das says
There was, kind of. All Roehl trucks have cameras. Hopefully it caught something.
Geri mann says
That is why you don’t check your load on the side of the road. Get at least on a ramp, Rest area, scale or truck stop. NOT SAYING THE U HAUL DRIVER SHOULDNT BE CHARGED But, as Professional driver you should know to never check your load in the emergency lane. PRAYERS TO THIS MANS FAMILY AND GOD BLESS THAT DRIVER FOR BEING WITH HIM
inaNYminet says
The story does not state if it was an emergency stop. If you never did flatbed you will not think of something like this. Something could have shifted enough through travel a strap loosened that was required holding that part of the load so the driver had no choice but to pull over immediately to ensure the load was safe to continue driving down the road and insure the safety of the public.
Santi Bailey says
We do that all the time but our fellow drivers know to move to the next lane but any body can rent a Uhaul or buy a big RV rest in peace driver
Bigwave says
I see a lot of truck drivers that don’t move over one lane when they can. And it really pisses me off.
Charles says
Prayer for the family, this could happen to any of us, it’s not even safe in truckstops,a driver hit and killed in pilot in memphis Indiana, hit and run, where is it safe?
John Cook says
Never stop on the side of the road, never turn your back on traffic.
Just look at some of the places cops stop motorists, we always have subsidized safty along the roads, most of those dummies are still alive because of attentive truckers not wanting to deal with the paperwork.
David Moore says
As a OTR driver for over 23 years. I hate to see a person not make it home. You should not die doing your job.
RIP driver .
tanner weston says
This breaks my heart. That could have been any one of us. My prayers are with his family. No one should have to die alone. Especially in this way of life as a professional truck driver.
GOD loved him enough to see that he did not die alone .
“Don’t worry driver. You’re job is finished.
The rest of us will carry on with your load . RIP”
sonny Pruitt says
He must have really needed a tarp bad or something!
inaNYminet says
I doubt very much it had to do with tarping. If anything it had to do with securement of his load. Then again, I would expect something like that out of a non flatbed hauler.
sonny Pruitt says
What was he inspecting his equipment for? Was he involved in the accident he just saw?or did he just decide it was a good place to check his equipment? Anyway he’s lucky he wasn’t lying beside him, I’m not running down the middle of I 10 in Fontana without police directing traffic or something for any reason. The article leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
inaNYminet says
Yes it does. Only time I pull onto the shoulder is if there is no way I can make it to a ramp or rest area safely without putting someone or myself in jeopardy while trying to do so.
Timothy Hardin says
At the end of the arguments….. this dead driver (REST HIS SOUL) should be capable of staying out of the roadway, enough so that any vehicle cannot strike him while doing WHATEVER he had to do… yes the U-Haul driver is going to pay one day, but the fact still remains…. YOU MUST BE TOTALLY AEARE IF YOUR SURROUNDINGS AT ALLLL TIMES! This is such a tragedy that MOST LIKELY, EASILY could have been avoided. So terrible.
Jim Estabrook says
I swear, some of these comments come from real losers. I’ve been doing this job since ‘77, and I can truthfully say that the mindset of drivers coming into the industry over the past twenty, or so years, has deteriorated to the point of “how friggin ignorant can you get”!
God accept this man into your loving arms. And bless the angel you provided him with, manifold.
Amen.
mousekiller says
Jim Estabrook, I agree with you . I have been behind the wheel of a CMV for over 50 years. Seen a lot of stupid over the years.Every year it seemed to get worse. Recently retired, had enough of the BS and stupidity of the new breed of driver. Trucking used to be fun and drivers stuck together.
Deaconblues62 says
Jesus Christ man o man, it’s a miracle the ABF Driver didn’t get killed too. He said he pulled on the shoulder and went back to the Roehl driver.
I would have just stopped in the road like the paramedics do.
Piss poor training is going to be the death 💀 of all of us ACROSS THE BOARD,
Cops 👮STATE TROOPERS don’t even pull people over anymore, I can drive all night and never see a STATE TROOPER, which really pisses me off, because they keep the Highway Safe.
I’m definitely hurt about the Roehl Driver, we Drivers hate to stop sometimes even when we feel it in the gut to do so, then when we absolutely have no other choice, then we stop, when your mind and gut feeling say stop, STOP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, pushing to the last minute can be DEADLY, like the Roehl driver did. 🗽 Please CHP, California Highway Patrol , you guys are the best trained in the nation, you guys can find that idiot U Haul driver that did this! PLEASE GET THAT MOTHER F******R.
Deaconblues62 says
Any updates?
Mike says
I hope they will find the U-Haul Driver and give him the death penalty for this..