MEMPHIS — Police in Memphis, Tennessee, say a female truck driver was shot on Thursday, April 4, while driving along Lamar Avenue and American Way.
According to the Memphis Police Department, the woman reported hearing what she thought sounded like a gunshot. When she heard another shot, she realized she had been hit in the upper left leg, police said.
She reported that the shots came from a black Toyota Camry with tinted windows.
The driver, who wasn’t named, was taken to a local hospital. A dog that was with her in the truck was transported to an animal shelter.
The truck was hauling 12 pallets of Google merchandise, police said.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
I am a female trucker who travels to Memphis bi-weekly. I quit staying overnight in Memphis about four years ago. It is just simply too dangerous for a lady driver or the men. Even the local truck stops there are no good. Yes, crime is everywhere. However, if possible you are much safer staying about an hour and a half or two hours out from Memphis in either direction except West Memphis Arkansas.
Dywana Miller,I don t think there is such thing as”100% safe”, women are always going to be seen as easy prey,that s why older folks like me didn t want women to drive trucks in any capacity,much less OTR.
Now we are where we are,all truck stops in any city are risky places,Memphis has always been a crime infested city,or it s been the almost 30 yrs that I ve been driving.
Be careful out there.
Everyone please stay safe and if you see people that arent like they are supposed to be on the truck,call police immediately.
Memphis is a hole. I would overnight 75 miles out of town at a rest area before my early morning delivery. I used to haul beer to a distribution center in Memphis and you couldn’t overnight in front of the customers property because the thieves would back of to the rear of the trailer and cut the seal and steal your load while you were sleeping. You didn’t dare get out to challenge them and I’d call the police and it would take 30 minutes to respond. This town is gone to the criminals.
That is no lie. But so have many other good cities.
crime is everywhere and women hate to admit that they are the easiest targets out there but they truly are. Stop trying to prove you’re as tough as a man and get yourself a safer job. If not, shut up and except the consequences
I think more drivers should be carrying firearms to protect themselves. When populations in high crime cities act out, drivers should refuse loads and let those people starve.
Crime is everywhere you just have to be safe I don’t stop at the Loves in Memphis unless I absolute have to and for The Ruler stop being a male shovelnist women get the job done as well as men. Furthermore as parking park at the dog track in West Memphis.
Aman sister tell him women Can do it better alot of the time
IF SO THEN DEAL WITH WHAT COMES WITH THE JOB DON’T LOOK FOR SPECIAL PRIVILEGES!!!!!! DANGER IS👂👀🤨🤔👂🤌👋
@KWtrucker Absolutely!!
@TheRuler Rather than telling women what to do, try telling me to step back up to head of household so we won’t have to get these kinds of jobs. Or are you one of those that don’t believe in men paying all the bills? Men don’t know wtf they want, but are quick to run their trap about something. Some women aren’t trying to as tough as men. Some of us are single and trying to survive in this economy with trucking as our sole source of income. Apparently your parents didn’t teach you if you don’t have anything nice to say then shut your fudging piehole. There’s your lesson, clown.
The world is a ghetto. Remember that song 100% true no love for 1 another anymore. No empathy or compassion dog eat dog 😢 What happened to self respect and love thy neighbors. Stand up for what is right and honorable 🎖 🙌 Or just go stra6 to he’ll with gas underwear. Your children are the next victim of this society ???? Let that sink in your SpongeBob Head!!! We deserve 😤 better as a human race of people 😤 Stay Safe as you can Drivers.100% FACTS PERIOD 💯 🙏 👌
I think women drivers are assets to the trucking industry and should be treated with respect you give your mother’s so with that being said my prayers and blessings for the female that got shot doing nothing but her job so for all of you talking about women this or that a fellow truck driver got shot it could have been a man so with that just remember that we now have a dangerous job and even as men drivers we should protect the women drivers like we would our mothers, daughter, wives, sisters and family have a blessed day
I’ve been driving since 2003. To all you fellows out there still acting like women don’t belong in trucking, shove it!!! True, you do have some females out there wanting to be so called equal right activists, comparing themselves to men and such and then act surprised when reality literally bitch slaps them in the face. But nowadays you’ve got just as many Men or rather, Ex-Men doing the same and taking credit for competing in women dominated events. But there are truly just some women out here trucking, minding their own business and trying to provide for their families. I’m one of them. Memphis Sucks, Dude. Everyone knows that. But it didn’t always used to be that way. The same could be said about a lot of other cities. And crime has no preference. Like any professional driver and decent human being, you adapt to your situation and make the best judgement call for yourself first, then everyone around you. Situational awareness is key in the this industry. Unfortunately, even more so for women. But that doesn’t mean we’re any less capable of doing this job or that we’re any safer staying at home. Seriously, it’s 2024 people. Plz get over yourselves 🙄. God bless
Women always putting words in a man’s mouth to twist the narrative because of your insecurities and fear. It sounds like “a being a woman complex”. He didn’t say women couldn’t drive, nor did he say trucking is not for women. He said trucking is dangerous, get a safer job, if not deal with the consequences. I bet thats the advice he would give his daughter. Therefore, he is sharing his thoughts out of love.
Things must have changed a lot. I drove long haul from 1974 to 2019 and the truck stops in West Memphis were reasonably safe. In the 70s and 80s the only crime around truck stops was prostitution, which was rampant.
Man, Woman, whatever. It’s a truck driver trying to do their job and to have some Tur@ drive by and shoot your truck just shows what happens when criminals don’t get locked up and stay in jail due to liberal policies that put them back on the street. Glad the driver will likely recover OK and didn’t get shot in the head. Trucking is a dangerous job even WITHOUT dealing with idiots like the one that shot this driver. Ladies have every right to drive truck and I am glad to see them out here working with the rest of us. Praying this driver recovers OK and has no long term disability from this idiotic incident. When I was a kid in the 60’s……. crap like this didn’t happen.
Mike, I never said he said that. Nor do I have a “woman complex”. Being a woman is natural and how I was born. Nothing complex about. Although with your limited views on the nature of things, especially when some (Men) just can’t accept accountability for their words or actions so they feel the need to defend them, no matter how wrong they are. Trucking is a not a job, it’s a lifestyle, Sir. Little difference between us and the military except we aren’t allowed to be armed. There are women in the military you know. There are also female police, firefighters, construction workers, you name it.. we’re pretty much there. I am neither insecure or fearful but that man said what he said no matter how it was intended. And my point is there are plenty of dangerous jobs that employs women and there’s an equal part where they will suffer the same fate as any man in that field. Any woman with an ounce of sense in her brain knows this and knows this risks. So why are y’all acting like it’s her fault for getting shot just because she choose to become a truck driver? What guarantees that she wouldn’t suffer the same fate WFH from a stray bullet? I swear, some “Men” have a way of twisting a woman’s words to make it seem like she’s being victimized in order to make their claims seem more logical and sensible by default but whatever ig. Whatever floats your boat my guy
Sad to say it’s hard to stay safe.. back in 1986 I was shot 2 times in the upper body.. one lodge 2 centimeter from my heart an the other throughout the side… lost a rib . just doing my job delivering for a food company.. I drove for and as of today, they still haven’t caught the guy that shot me. And women drivers out need to watch more of their surroundings. I carry wasp spray.. Oah it will do wonders believe it or not.
What I think… there was a rash of trucks getting shot at about 2 years ago in that same Lamar area. Maybe the perp got caught, he’s out of Jail and back at it! Somebody is gonna get killed. Best thing Memphis can do is stop deliveries from 10p until 6am! Whoever is doing this is getting some kind of joy! Somebody is gonna end up dead, Male or female! So to all you Male drivers, that believe females can’t do the job, go thru Memphis late at night… you might be the next target!