Trucker suing police department that jailed him on DUI suspicions when he was actually having a stroke

A truck driver is suing a Virginia police department over their treatment of him during a medical emergency that resulted in a CMV crash. 

54-year-old William Heim from Kentucky is suing the Wytheville Police Department for an April 26th, 2023 incident on East Main Street in Wytheville, Virginia. The lawsuit was filed on January 25th, 2025. 

According to WDBJ7, Heim crashed his tractor trailer into an SUV on East Main Street and Sergeant Zachary Puckett with the Wytheville Police Department responded to the scene. Heim was clearly disoriented, and Puckett quickly accused him of being under the influence. 

“You can barely speak. You’re not making any sense at all,” Puckett said to Heim on body cam footage of the incident. 

“Alright, partner. I’m going to ask you some questions and I want you to be honest with me, okay? Honesty goes a long way with me. What type of drugs are you using?” questions Puckett.

“I haven’t,” Heim said. 

“No medical problems at all? Any physical handicaps, anything like that? No mental problems, anything like that?,” Puckett continued. “Any street drugs? Marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, anything like that? You’ve not had any alcohol?”

Heim responded no to each question, and was put through cognitive tests and a breathalyzer test. Court documents show Heim blew a 0.01. Heim was never asked if he needed medical attention, and was soon placed under arrest and booked into the New River Valley Regional Jail on a DWI charge. His universal drug screening came back negative. 

In the suit, Heim claims that he was left in the cell for 27 hours. During that time he was disoriented and “unable to control his bodily functions, including urinating on himself several times.” He was never offered medical care, and remained in the cell until his sister begged jail staff to get him medical help. 

At 5 p.m. the day after the crash, Heim was taken to Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, where it was determined that Heim had suffered a stroke and was not under the influence of any substances. 

The lawsuit claims that the department’s treatment of Heim resulted in extremely delayed medical care, leaving him with “extensive and permanent injuries. Heim now “requires assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week in order to survive.”

The suit is seeking over $10 million in damages for the incident, alleging that Puckett and two other officers involved in Heim’s arrest were negligent. The lawsuit states that the officers should have known the trucker was suffering a stroke due to previous training. 

Heim’s DWI charge has been dropped.