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Families mourn two truckers killed on same stretch of road Wednesday

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Two separate families are mourning the deaths of their beloved truck drivers this month after the two men were killed on the same stretch of road in Queens this week. 

Both 49-year-old trucker Chad Hallenbeck and 50-year-old trucker Roy Bennington died Wednesday in Maspeth, Queens, New York. 

Hallenbeck was killed when an out of control car struck him after he stepped out of his truck on Grand Avenue near 57th Street. He died at the scene. Just eight hours later, Bennington lost control of his truck during what is believed to have been a medical episode and succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. 

Hallenbeck had been a trucker for 25 years, and leaves behind 9 children, from 1-year-old twins to 23-years-old. 

“He’s definitely a family man, worked hard for his kids,” said Matthew Hallenbeck. “He’s a country guy, liked working on his equipment and hunting and spending time with his family.”

“He’d go all over — Georgia, down south, out west,” his son said. “He was into making silly faces and talking in weird voices. He was a very animated guy.”

Bennington’s family says they found out about his death when they tried calling him, but a detective answered the phone. 

“I tried calling my dad and talked to a detective — he answered my dad’s phone,” said Hailey Byrne, Bennington’s daughter, to New York Daily News.

“We’re still figuring that all out right now, waiting for the autopsy,” said Byrne. “We’re just trying to take it a day at a time.”

“He’s a great person all around,” said Byrne. “A great smile, just lit up a room. Never seemed down…. Very selfless, loved his family, his kids, his first grandchild.”

Bennington was a trucker for around 20 years, and leaves behind five children between 15 and 29-years-old, and a 2-year-old grandson.

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