Update on Jerry:
Hello all. My name is Paul Nicol, I am the owner of Hana Express, the company Jerry drives for. Jerry was indeed in a very serious accident the week before last. He was on I-71 between Louisville and Cincinnati. My understanding is that there was some patchwork happening along this stretch of I-71 and the right lane had been closed near the accident site. The right lane had come to a stop and the left lane was crawling. Jerry was in the right lane behind a 53ft and he did not see the braking of the truck in time and he rear ended the truck at a fairly high speed. At the last second he tried to avoid the truck and get onto the right shoulder and unfortunately he didn’t make it in time and most of the impact was on the driver side of his sprinter. His van was of course totaled and in such bad shape that he needed to be cut out of the van and put on a life flight to Cincinnati. Fortunately, no one else was hurt in the accident.
Since I’m familiar with the facts and details of his condition I’ll answer a few questions here and provide some more info.
Jerry indeed drives a silver sprinter with windows. He’s perhaps one of the most easy going and kind drivers that has ever worked for me and if you have run into him out the road you will also remember him as such. He’s 67 years of age.
The freight he was carrying didn’t pin him in the front of the van and result in his injuries. Reports of responders tossing freight to the back of the van is accurate but his freight was all small cartons of wires and they were scattered all over the van. His injuries were due to the high impact on the front driver’s side and not from being pinned from behind. This does not diminish the importance of securing freight though. Indeed, you should all make sure you are using load bars, straps, and anything else you can to secure your freight. The biggest problem with Jerry’s freight was that like most things that come out of Mexico it was poorly packaged and palletized. If you get a skid off the border, don’t be afraid to tell the shipper and the company you driver for it needs to be more secure. If it’s not shrink wrapped or is very loosely shirk wrapped, demand they shrink wrap it more. And always, always secure your freight before you leave.
Jerry’s injuries were pretty extensive. Broken left leg, broken left ribs, broken or fractured pelvis/hip (I don’t know which) cuts and wounds to his left arm and leg, laceration to his liver. Fortunately though, no indications of head, neck, or spine injuries. Today they did a procedure to help his liver heal and to drain off the leaking bile which can be very dangerous. If the liver problem can be controlled and healed they will proceed with a surgery on his hip. Then the next step will be to try and wean him off of his ventilator which he was put on approximately a week ago.
Needless to say, he is still in the ICU and has a very long way to go. I visited him on Saturday and while he was awake and somewhat alert, he is certainly feeling the effects of being in the ICU for over 10 days. His family has been with him most of the time that he has been in the hospital. I told Jerry that all you folks on the road are praying for his recovery and his pain to be eased. Because he is in the ICU, visitation restrictions are in place and I recommend that anyone interested in visiting him consider waiting until he is at least out of the ICU and more responsive. Communication with him is very limited and he is receiving close watch and care and while visits are appreciated they can also be a hindrance during this stage as the nurses and doctors care for him. His family (who is close with him), are there and they are supporting him. We will continue to pass along to Jerry and his family your prayers and well wishes.
Jerry is a Christian. I will not fail to mention in this post that God was looking out for one of his sheep that afternoon and spared his life. It’s truly a miracle that Jerry survived the accident due to its severity.
Christians on the road; your prayers are truly appreciated and are being acknowledged daily by our Father.
Non-believers reading this; do not be too quick to disregard the Christian driver on the road who strikes up a conversation with you. Perhaps one day you may find yourself in a situation like Jerry’s and without Christ on your side, you are gambling with your life.
Thank you again to all of you for your prayers and well wishes for Jerry. I cannot update this thread every day with his status but I will try at least once a week to let you all know how he’s doing.
God Bless,
Paul Nicol
Hana Express
