NORTH ANNVILLE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A truck driver is lucky to have his head after a steel beam crashed through his truck’s cab in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 1.
The driver, who drove a Kenworth, was carrying a load of steel beams on a flatbed.
WGAL reports that a shifting load on the back of a tractor-trailer sent a steel beam through the truck’s cab at around 4:50 p.m. at the intersection of Route 934 and Harrison Drive in North Annville Township, Pennsylvania.
First responders helped the driver out of the cab.
Photos posted to social media by the Annville Fire Department show the steel beam piercing the back of the cab and crashing through the windshield on the driver’s side.
The truck driver was transported to a hospital for undisclosed injuries.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Of course those steel beams shifted, the driver was lazy and used nothing but straps on that load. The drivers complacency nearly cost him his life. Always use chains AND straps with edge protectors on your steel beam loads.
When I was in the army we had to watch a training video about driving and it showed this poor guy with a load of 6 inch pipe all the pipe went through the back of the cab and pinned him against the steering wheel killing him instantly….. 3,000,000 miles later I have not forgotten that photograph
That story was reported in TRUCKER NEWS. The driver was told by the SHIPPER that he could not use chains on the load. If that had been me I would have told the shipper to unload his shit and don’t ever call me again. That’s the problem with today’s drivers. NO BALLS to tell anyone that their way is unsafe. I haul an RGN and sometimes I get a load where the shipper is adamant about how to secure the load. I tell then to get it off my trailer and to call someone else. I will not haul a load that the shipper tells me how to secure my load. If chains are required then chains it will be. Straps will not stop steel beams from shifting or sliding ahead. Sometimes even with chains you aren’t fully protected but it’s better than losing a load or your life. That shipper should be responsible for the hospital bill as well as all medical bills that driver is facing. Time to contact a lawyer.
Was there a heartache rack? Still no excuse not to use chains! Finally, prayers that the driver is okay!🙏🇺🇸
Should be a industry requirement all Trucks pulling flatbeds must have a headache Rack!
Thats the way it used to be
I have been hauling steel for 20 years and have never had a load claim or lost a load and yes things happen and u get into situations where hard breaking is necessary and if u say u never been there you are lying and those flimsy little aluminum headache rack you talk of ain’t stopping a big coilnor that heavy beam don’t always start blaming somebody for doing something wrong unless you were there don’t judge unless u want to be judged hopefully the driver is all good and able to get back trucking this is the best job there is if u don’t think so then get out