Truck driver in critical condition following assault at Arizona rest area

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) is investigating a rest area assault incident that sent a truck driver to the hospital with serious injuries.

At 10 p.m. on February 15, CCSO responded to the westbound I-10 rest stop near San Simon, Arizona, for a reported assault.

Upon arrival, deputies, Arizona Department of Public Safety Troopers, and US Border Patrol Agents discovered a 59 year old male “suffering from serious physical injuries.”

Local outlet KOLD identified the victim as a truck driver.

The truck driver was airlifted to a hospital. He is listed in critical condition.

CCSO is asking anyone with information to contact them via SEACOM at 520-803-3550.

Sheriff Investigating Previous Suspicious Activity and Assault At I-10 Rest Area

The news of the assault comes just days after the CCSO announced the launch of an investigation into two separate robbery incidents that occurred in February 2024, also at a rest area off of I-10 near San Simon.

This investigation was initiated due to an uptick suspicious activity at the rest area in 2025.

CCSO detailed the two February 2024 robbery incidents:

The first incident involved a driver who observed between 5-8 people celebrating in the parking lot and talking about a man giving away money after winning big at a casino. The driver approached the group to see what was going on when a male subject showed him several hundred dollars and offered to double what was in the victim’s pocket. When the driver checked his money (amounting to almost two thousand dollars), the suspect grabbed it and ran away. As the victim attempted to follow the suspect, he was physically held back from behind and then directed to a white truck which the person/people holding him advised the suspect was in. The victim stopped the truck and determined that the driver and sole occupant was NOT the suspect. The victim advised that other people all fled the area in multiple vehicles.

The second incident was the following day when a driver, who was sleeping at the rest area, was awakened by someone banging on his door and yelling that a “driver needed help”. The victim got out of his truck and attempted to follow the person to the location where someone needed help when he turned and observed a male subject in the passenger side of the truck. As the victim ran back to his vehicle someone tripped him and he fell hitting his head causing injury. The victim advised that between 5-8 subjects fled the area in multiple vehicles and they took a significant amount of money from inside the victim’s vehicle.

As part of the investigation, CCSO named Adam Smith, 40, as an investigative lead and asked for public help in locating him.

CCSO also released several photos of the recent suspicious activity at the rest area.