Truck Topics

A Highway Nightmare - An update

Glen and Janice Rice are still recovering from a deadly Florida Turnpike collision on December 10, 2003.  Click here for the story.  

The couple has been suffering from a variety of physical traumas from the event and the emotional pain will not be erased soon.  In addition, they have lost their source of income along with its contents and they have serious doubts about returning to the career that Glen has loved for thirty years.

Still, as Glen puts it, "We put ourselves in God's hands that night, and whatever fate he chose for us was all right with Janice and me."

The Aftermath
"We were fortunate that the truck was so stable just after the impact; it did what it was supposed to do.  What a great piece of equipment!  It could have just flopped right over because the impact was so violent."

Glen tells us that he and Janice have been attending physical therapy several times a week.

"We've been busy getting tests done for back and shoulder injuries for both Janice and me. The swelling in my back has receded a little so an MRI has been ordered.  I'm also suffering from a neck injury and my hips took a real blast.

"I don't know if it's from the impact or if it's from jumping out of the truck, but I can only walk about 50 feet before I have to stop.  I also lost a couple of teeth."

"Janice is having trouble in one eye caused by the head trauma.  At first, they thought she had suffered a detached retina, but it's actually optical migraines."

Glen states that the couple is receiving moist heat treatments and massage therapy.

Material Loss
"The truck, of course, was a total loss," says Glen.  Among the personal items we lost were our computer and printer, a scanner, cameras, DVD's and CD's.  Janice also lost her 5 carat diamond bracelet.  I lost virtually all of my files for 2003."

Because the couple was without a permanent residence for a time, they were carrying personal items in the truck. 

Glen continues, "Immediately following the accident, I told FedEx Custom Critical that we had lost all of our cash, credit cards, and bank cards.   Janice and I still had a small balance left in our Comdata account, so FedEx overnighted me a new card so we could access those funds."

"FedEx Custom Critical has been great!  They've been very supportive from the top on down.  We've received well-wishing cards from different departments and we really appreciate their concern."

"The other party's insurance company has been pro-active in their dealings with me so far.  They have told us that they know that we've lost our personal items and they want to work with us on that."

Glen adds that he's gained some knowledge about insurance coverage:  "Something I can pass on to others is to check your insurance policy very carefully.  For example, I've discovered that we're not covered for counseling, we have to pay for that out of pocket."

"You need to have a rider on either the truck insurance or homeowner's insurance to cover the contents of the truck.  Backup your information, get it out of the truck."

Glen has kind words for a friend:  "Dennis Kircher, claims adjuster who drove us home the night of the incident, gave us 300 dollars in cash.  He has shown real concern for us and has become a friend.

"I could barely walk the day after the accident.  I met Dennis at the impound lot and he was kind enough to search through the rubble of the truck looking for any salvageable items.  All he found was four pages of my expense journal."

A side note
The tow bill was $19,750 for the trip to an impound lot about 10 miles away from the accident scene.  The recovery company ad to bring a dumpster, reclaim the land, scrape the highway clean of melted debris and do general cleanup.

For the Present
Glen tells us:  "We have no plans at the present.  We know that we're going to have at least a couple months of physical therapy to try to get our strength back.  We would like to say thanks to everyone for their cards and phone calls of support.  We really appreciate it!"