Trigger Warning: piece touches on the topics of suicide and mental health
A CDLLife App member took to the app this week to tackle a very serious subject: suicide by semi truck.
Truck driver and app user Trucking Junkie shared a post by the New York State Police looking for information on a man that apparently stepped in front of a moving semi truck early Tuesday morning, December 1st.
Seeking the Public’s Assistance: On December 1, 2020. at 5:59 a.m., State Police Middletown were notified by Orange…
Posted by New York State Police on Tuesday, December 1, 2020
“You never know what’s going on in other people’s lives, what they could be going through” Trucking Junkie wrote.
“This morning a guy that I used to work for… woke up this morning to go to work the same route I take only to have a disgruntled person step out in front of his truck (on the highway) and commit suicide!”
“Who knows the reason, but whatever it may be it’s sad!” he continued.
“You just never know what people are going through so maybe a kind word may be just what someone needs! Stay safe my fellow road warriors.”
According to the New York State Police, a pedestrian was walking along the shoulder of State Route 17 in the town of Wallkill when they stepped into the right lane, directly in front of an oncoming semi truck. The pedestrian was killed on impact.
Police are urging anyone who may have witnessed the crash or who saw someone walking along State Route 17 to please contact the state police at the Middletown barracks at (845) 344 5300.
Unfortunately, suicide by truck is not all that uncommon. Although there is no agency that specifically tracks suicides by truck – most are likely labeled as ‘pedestrian deaths’ – there have been multiple presumed and confirmed suicide-by-truck incidents just this year.
If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts, get help right away through one or more of these resources:
- Reach out to a close friend or loved one.
- Contact a minister, a spiritual leader or someone in your faith community.
- Call a suicide hotline number — in the United States, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) to reach a trained counselor. Use that same number and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.
- Make an appointment with your doctor or a mental health professional.
Between maintaining their own mental health in such a grueling occupation, and accepting the very real possibility that someone may use their rig as a conduit for ending a life, truck drivers have a lot to think about. So please, thank a trucker, and don’t forget – you never know quite what someone is going through, so be kind.