Truck Rams CTA Station on the Dan Ryan

[redytrk]

Two were killed, many injured. Witnesses: 'The truck just came charging across' -- chicagotribune.com

 

[Bruno]

That is very sad that two people died in that crash. The driver made it.

 

[redytrk]

Some eyewitness said the driver was slumped over the wheel before impact. He was treated and released from the hospital ruling out a heart attack. Hope his log book was in good order.

 

[Crazynuff]

He checked out o.k. on a CAT scan , passed a breathalyzer , refused a drug test . MyFox Chicago | Driver of Semi Truck in Police Custody
You can identify the carrier's logo in these photos - Whiteline Express out of Plymouth , MI
Police grapple for clues -- chicagotribune.com

 

[Lawrence]

Bad media for trucking. It's amazing what one, careless driver can do to months or years of goodwill created by thousands of good drivers.

 

[greg334]

Bad media for trucking. It's amazing what one, careless driver can do to months or years of goodwill created by thousands of good drivers.

Agreed, I think the media will play this up, just like they did for the truck driver who died last month while driving on the wrong side of the freeway.

 

[piper1]

Agreed, I think the media will play this up, just like they did for the truck driver who died last month while driving on the wrong side of the freeway.

Come on Greg, I'm sure the media will wait for all the facts and report what really happened fairly with no bias.

The scary thing is when the politicians jump on it and start writing laws based on the public "outrage". Can you see it now, no trucks within metro Chicago between 4 am and 2 am.

 

[Coco]

This will take care of the proposed increased truck speed limit for Illinois. Mr Blagoavich will be hapy.

 

[Crazynuff]

Typical media jumped on the XTRA lease logos on the trailer and tried to contact XTRA lease . They couldn't contact one so found the website and reported "XTRA lease rents trucks to drivers for short terms " When was the last time you saw an XTRA tractor ? The paper investigating XTRA was the "Washington Post" . Figures
washingtonpost.com

 

[redytrk]

Here is a folow up story. Dont know why this clown was allowed to drive.Trucker had someone else's prescription :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State

 

[Crazynuff]

This will take care of the proposed increased truck speed limit for Illinois. Mr Blagoavich will be hapy.

Was he going over 55 m.p.h ? Maybe if he was going 10 m.p.h. faster he'd already be past the station before he fell asleep or whatever . Slower speeds = more driving time = more fatigue .

 

[piper1]

If anyone wonders what I mean by "bottom feeders" this trucking company is a good example.

When times get tight and shippers demand lower rates these kind of "companies" seem to flourish. Until they go bankrupt because of an accident like this.

There is another one that has come out of the woodwork in the last 14 months that hauls a lot of auto parts. You've probably all seen it, drivers of very questionable skill and qualification driving 10 plus year old trucks in very poor shape usually at high speed. This particular outfit has been around before under different names...same owner. I better shut up before I break a rule or slander someone.

Rant over.

 

[pjjjjj]

abc7chicago.com: Driver in Chinatown crash reportedly near death 5/29/08

 

[Broompilot]

pjjjjj

Thanks for the update: Sugar Diabetes?

Looking at the film, with the weight problem, not taking care of oneself. The film does a good job at recording that. I would feel very confident that he had know idea of his medical problem and this is why he cannot recover from his internal injuries but with HIPPA silence is golden. (my personal observation)

A very large % of our population does not even know they have Sugar Diabetes, I do not recall them taking a blood sample during any DOT Physicals and have asked about the Pee Test only checking for Drugs or Alchol. But a doctor should have questioned this guy more.

It is a very sad story for everyone.

The lesson to be learned, take care of yourself and watch ones weight as this is the result "s" of the neglect I am sure the story teller is right this guy is probably a great person at heart who never inteneded to hurt or would hurt someone on purpose.

If one is over weight you feel tired all of the time GET CHECKED, I have a friend who abuses himself all the time even had is CDL yanked and is now pulling Campers goes days on end without stopping Drove like this while he was Expediting as well 4,000 miles in 5-7 days all the time. The only reason he is not driving right now, is someone did us all a favor and pulled out in front him. I would guess if not for his medical condition he might of seen this comming (the pull out).

 

[pjjjjj]

If this is the case, he may well have been aware since he refused a urine test. They did take his blood however. Maybe he has internal injuries from the crash. Who knows. Anyway, very sad. Weird, no mention of his kids visiting.

 

[Broompilot]

[Good observation Pjjjj I failed to figure that into account. Hmmm now that would make him guilty if he did really know.

 

[pjjjjj]

[Good observation Pjjjj I failed to figure that into account. Hmmm now that would make him guilty if he did really know.

Well, not necessarily, becuz I believe you are allowed to drive a CMV if you have 'type 2' diabetes (which is the kind you can tend to get due to lifestyle choices). Has anyone considered that perhaps he fell asleep at the wheel from just being tired?

 

[cheri1122]

The refusal to submit to a urine test is what makes him appear guilty, of knowledge, if nothing else. I believe the urine tests done for a DOT physical do check for high sugar levels, because I asked the physician who did my last test. The answer was that they look for excessive sugar, though they don't get an exact number, as the blood tests do.

 

[RLENT]

The pee test for a DOT physical does not check for drug and alcohol - it checks for 4 things:

Specific Gravity
Blood
Protein
Sugar (which could be evidence of diabetes)