Truck Topics
A Highway Nightmare
It was a nightmare for Glen and Janice Rice but one that they know will be difficult to forget.
The FedEx Custom Critical White Glove contractors were involved in an accident last Wednesday evening that received national news coverage. This event resulted in one fatality and serious injuries to others. It will haunt the parties involved for years to come.
Glen and Janice are the owners of the Lil' Deuce Coupe, a $275,000, heavily-customized 2002 Volvo straight truck that was introduced at the 2002 Mid-America Trucking Show and made an appearance at the 2002 Expedite Expo. The Rice's and their truck have also been featured in various trucking publications and on product calendars.
The couple says that, understandably, it's been an extremely traumatic last few days, and it's been difficult to sleep at night with the images of that evening still fresh in their minds.
Glen is limited in what he can discuss about the event due to security issues and because the accident is still under investigation.
He does say however, that most of the news stories about the accident were inaccurate.
The accident
On December 10, Glen and Janice were under load with a US Government shipment headed northbound on the Florida Turnpike. It was raining and temperatures were in the sixties.
Around 7:00 PM, Tera Marie Ross, 22, of Cooper City, FL, was driving south on the turnpike accompanied by her brother, Zachary Ryan Ross, 20, and another passenger, Kelly Melissa Raw, 18. All three are students at Jacksonville State University in Alabama and were heading home for the holidays.
Witnesses said the Ford Explorer Ross was driving drifted right, veered left, crossed the median and drove into the northbound lanes.
The SUV struck the left front wheel on the Rice's 2002 Volvo straight truck. The collision knocked the Volvo's batteries into the gas tank, which ruptured and exploded.
The impact knocked the Volvo into a slide and the truck came to rest at a ninety-degree angle to the highway. Glen and Janice got their seatbelts off and escaped from the cab.
By this time, the leaking fuel tank had already been ignited, and Glen says that witnesses tell him that they saw him walking through the flames, a feat that Glen says he doesn't remember!
Glen says that as they saw the accident about to happen, they experienced a feeling of total peace and calm. He states that "God was with us and we felt no panic or fear."
The truck's government cargo was ignited by the burning fuel and began exploding like fireworks, said Highway Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Kim Miller.
Government agencies waited until the next morning before transferring the remainder of the truck's cargo to another truck.
The aftermath
Tera Marie Ross, the SUV driver, was pronounced dead at the scene of the collision, which happened six miles west of the Orange County, FL line.
Her brother Zachary and passenger Kelly Melissa Raw, 18, of Oviedo, FL were flown to Orlando Regional Medical Center. Zachary Ross was released early Thursday. Raw was listed in fair condition with leg injuries.
Normally, an investigation of a fatal accident can shut down a highway for three to five hours. This time, drivers were detoured far longer. The turnpike was closed at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. The southbound lanes were reopened at 10:19 a.m. Thursday and the northbound at 1:07 p.m.
The accident shut down a 17-mile stretch of the turnpike, which is a major north-south highway artery for the state. That stretch of highway has on average 30,000 vehicles a day. Traffic was rerouted to U.S. 27 and S.R. 50.
Despite news reports that the couple was uninjured, Janice suffered bruising over her entire torso and the seatbelt injured her shoulder. Glen's back, neck and shoulder and feet were affected by the crash.
Their immediate plans are to receive physical therapy and counseling for the emotional trauma they suffered.
Glen and Janice lost everything they had in the truck - cell phone, computer, wallets with cash and credit cards, clothing, etc. An insurance adjuster advanced the couple a few hundred dollars to live on, and they have a couple of settlement checks on the way. Unfortunately, they were told by their bank that they cannot get a new ATM card for 5-7 business days.
The couple says that the insurance adjuster has been great, even giving them a ride to their home that is south of Daytona, FL.
Glen says that he has been accident-free during his 30 plus year career of professional driving that includes a sideline of drag racing.
Glen Rice is disappointed in the media, however. He says that in their desire for a story, reporters have called Janice's sister and mother in Rockford, IL and misrepresented themselves as "friends" of Glen and Janice by feigning concern about the couple's well being.
Glen says that Janice has serious reservations about ever driving professionally again, and he states that he has doubts about his return to trucking as well.