A semi truck abandoned at a truck stop in Pennsylvania inspired concerned truckers to check up on the welfare of the driver, and it sent them on a serious hunt for answers.
CDLLife app member and truck driver Chaplain SKREEECH came across a semi truck that had clearly been abandoned for several days and took to the app for help investigating after a failed attempt to contact the company.
“Hey Werner drivers, somebody please help me check on this driver and truck. It’s a little out of the ordinary. I knocked, nobody answered. Obviously no one has been in or out of it for a couple days,” Skreech wrote in a post on Wednesday, February 3rd at around 2:40 p.m.
“I tried to call Werner and have been hung up, transferred and disconnected a few times. Just want to make sure you don’t have a dead driver in there. God forbid.”
“Located at: Rutter’s #77, 77 Benvenue Rd (US 322/20 EB) Duncannon, PA 17020. Current time is 1440 WED 03 FEB 2021 EST. If you find out something, please lemme know,” he continued, including the truck and trailer numbers.
The post drew concern from fellow drivers, who suggested everything from contacting local police to getting in touch with Werner drivers they used to know.
“Call local for a welfare check,” suggested one commenter.
“It’s very good that you take the time to follow this up. Not old equipment,” added another.
“I can call my Werner contact, old friend, and find out for you,” suggested CDLLife app user ‘Mama Bear.’
The post stayed quiet for the rest of the day as Chaplain Skreeech reached out to some personal friends at Werner.
The following morning, Skreech edited the post with an update, and it’s better news than you may have been expecting.
“At approximately 2200 hours I was notified by Werner (as well as another Werner driver who saw this post) that the driver is on emergency medical leave and they know the truck is parked there,” he wrote in a comment.
“Now, for those of you whose first thought was to call the local cops… Never do that for something like this. It was very easy to find the company contact info and use ‘outside the box’ communication methods to find out what happened. It WAS NOT a 911 emergency and did not require police involvement at that point.”
He continued: “Had I called for a ‘wellness check’ this driver, whenever they returned, would most likely be coming back to a truck with a broken out window. Potentially a weather damaged truck and missing personal belongings. That would have sucked.”
“Good looking out. I try to do the same,” complimented one driver.
“Thank you for looking out for another driver. Definitely old school respect looking out for one another,” added another.
We’re just glad this unknown trucker is okay, and we’re hoping for his speedy recovery from emergency medical leave.
Great job looking out for one another, drivers.