Well Looks Like I Get That Long Weekend After All

Teddy got hit. Bad.

I'm at the Flying J in North Platte after delivering in Wyoming and picking up in Colorado.

We had been in bed about an hour when I felt the truck rocking. Hard.

Jumped out in a hurry to see my bumper lying on the ground...

I'm parked at the end of the row and somebody went around me and didn't swing wide enough.

The whole driver side bumper is ripped off and wedged under my tire. The headlight is hanging on the ground. He's not driveable.

The best part? Kenworth is closed for the holiday weekend and I can't get a tow until Tuesday. My husband MUST be home on the first for a doctors appointment so it looks like we will be renting a car to get back to Missouri and back here.

I'm starting to think I'm cursed...

Teddy got hit. Bad.

I'm at the Flying J in North Platte after delivering in Wyoming and picking up in Colorado.

We had been in bed about an hour when I felt the truck rocking. Hard.

Jumped out in a hurry to see my bumper lying on the ground...

I'm parked at the end of the row and somebody went around me and didn't swing wide enough.

The whole driver side bumper is ripped off and wedged under my tire. The headlight is hanging on the ground. He's not driveable.

The best part? Kenworth is closed for the holiday weekend and I can't get a tow until Tuesday. My husband MUST be home on the first for a doctors appointment so it looks like we will be renting a car to get back to Missouri and back here.

I'm starting to think I'm cursed...

Wow - sucks.

You catch the fool that did that? Any cameras in the parking lot?

Rick

Damn, that sux. You are not cursed, keep looking up.

WOW!!. Hope you two are ok. Also hope you caught the fool that did it and are able to get their company to get Teddy back on the road.

CM, I feel for you but don't ever park at the corners. This is a huge mistake folks do and then they're surprised when they get hit. I know that J like the back of my hand and those corners can be pretty tight over there. There's always more spots to park in the back row or across the street at the truck wash (when they close). But do not ever park your truck at the end of the row under any circumstances anywhere, this is a very common occurance but the mistake lies in both you and the driver who hit you in my opinion.

It's better for you to experience all this in the beggining of you're career than later on. you get used to them, you learn and then you teach us about them :-)

Goodluck

The driver that hit me turned around and we traded insurance info.

Plus I'm pretty sure my outward facing camera caught what happened. And a couple across the aisle from us saw everything that happened and are willing to be witnesses.

I know it was my mistake to park at the end of the row. Everything has been really rough lately between stress of the job and a bunch of other stuff.

My DM just called to make sure everything was ok. Kenworth can't tow until Tueday so we are stuck in Nebraska. I'll get breakdown pay while I'm sitting and then we are renting a car to drive home, take care of our stuff, and get back to Nebraska.

That's a huge freaking lot too... one of my favorites cause even I can park. He must really suck as a driver!!! Glad u r not hurt though. And it's nice u didn't flip out on him. You never know what could happen in the future or how you would feel of the roles were reversed.

At least it wasn't a hit-n-run. Sometimes you gotta park in an available space. As long as you were actually IN a "real space" (and in the marked space, not hanging out or blocking), you should be good to go with safety.

Sucks that it happened on a holiday weekend, and you can't get it looked at until Tuesday. I'd suspect, if parts are involved, it might be a day or two to get them in also (since bumpers and fenders are big parts, and may/may not come in next day).

Just a streak of misfortune (don't wanna say bad luck - because we usually have a part in that ourselves).

Look at it this way. With all the negatives that you've have survived so far - and haven't lost your head/nerve/faith - by the time you get to the 1 year mark, you'll have way more "coping skills" than the driver that just had "smooth sailing" their first year.

What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger...

Rick

The bad part of this lot is it isn't marked well. But yes I was in a marked spot. Crooked yes, but in the spot.

Luckily it happened early in the evening. By the time I got up, got my glasses and shoes on and got out of the truck, there were already several drivers at my truck pointing out who hit. Someone had already been on the CB to get the guy to stop.

I feel bad for the guy. He hasn't even been driving a year. And while I was super mad to see half my truck lying on the ground, I remembered that I was in a very similar situation not too long ago. I remembered how horrible it felt to have someone yelling at me and going off at me. So as mad as I was, I treated the guy with professionalism and respect, just how I would want to be treated