Hey everyone! It’s time for your Thursday Daily Trucker News Update! I’m Niki Snyder.
And I’m Isela Rios. We have a lot of news to cover today, including:
- Hero FedEx Driver
- A Fraudulent Driver goes to prison
- Pharr-Reynosa Bridge Expansion
So let’s get Trucking!
Isela: So, talk about being at the right place at the right time. A Fedex driver, Brandon Alt, who started his route through Truckee, California, noticed a car in front of him weaving in and out of traffic almost hitting two other vehicles then veered off the road and into a river. Alt pulled over and threw his hazard lights on, slid down the embankment and carefully walked through the icy water to help the woman. He was unable to get the driver door open, so went for the back door. Water quickly flooded the car but he was able to get the woman to safety and call 911. You guessed it, the woman had been distracted by her cell phone when trying to make a phone call.
Niki: Move For Hunger, a national non-profit, dedicated to helping local food banks was recently featured on the Today Show. The idea to start the organization came from its founder, Adam Lowy, when working for his family’s moving company, noticed that people would leave behind items including food. Within a month Lowy had donated 300 pounds of food to a local food bank. Since then, the organization has delivered more than 20 million pounds of food to local food banks providing more than 17 million meals to individuals in need. In 2020, they stepped up their efforts during the pandemic and reached out to more than a thousand drivers, who volunteered to deliver more than 5 million pounds of food.
Isela: This next story is about a young lady who comes from a family of truckers. Her mother is in the business and so was her grandfather. Growing up, Cheyenne Martinez, remembers riding in the truck with her mother and has now joined Werner Enterprises’ veteran’s program. Martinez feels that this is a good career path for veterans coming from the active-duty side stating “I’m used to being on the go, continuing to travel, It’s more of a passion than a job.” Way to go Cheyenne!
Niki: A former company owner was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison after pleading guilty last to falsifying government records, Identity theft, bank and wire fraud, and tax evasion. 41 yearr old Michael Chavez, a car hauler was also ordered to pay restitution to Amazon for an alleged package return scam of more than $640 thousand. Chavez also used another person’s personal identifying info to illegally operate a fleet of trucks after the FMCSA ordered the business shut down.
He also attempted to evade paying taxes by commingling business and personal expenses, creating fraudulent third party checks, cashing them at a check casher and he even maintained approximately 15 bank accounts using at least five different company names and that’s only to name a few of the crimes Chavez had committed.
Isela: Truck Traffic will be a priority when the Pharr-Reynosa Bridge’s largest expansion project in history is completed in 2023, according to the bridge’s general director. The expansion will include the building of a second bridge in Pharr, Texas, along the U.S Mexico border to add capacity cargo and reduce wait times for commercial trucks. The expansion of the bridge will include Free and Secure Trade lanes from Mexico to The U.S. and the bridge could accommodate another 800 trucks. The Phar-Reynosa International bridge was the second-busiest commercial truck crossing in Texas during 2020 and the third busiest on the Mexican Border.
Niki: A Tennessee man is facing a charges after opening fire on a semitruck, then leading police on a high speed chase has been captured. Police in Monterey, TN. Responded to a call where a gray infinity had been involved in an aggravated assault in which the driver had shot at a semi-truck, striking the truck door while the driver was still driving on the interstate. Police spotted the vehicle on I-40 going west bound. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Dept and Tenn. Highway Patrol took action. The troopers deployed spike strips in Cookville and were able to flatten two of the car’s tires. The pursuit continued to Baxter, where the suspect ended up exiting on I-40 exit 280 where the suspect lost control of the vehicle and fled on foot to the Love’s Travel Center. The truck stop was evacuated and canine units searched the building eventually finding the suspect hiding in a freezer of the McDonalds restaurant inside the truck stop. This wasn’t Xavier Water’s first time dealing with police as he had warrants for several felony charges such as aggravated assault with a hand gun, Kidnapping, aggravated burglary, domestic assault, and theft.
That does it for today’s update!
Tune in tomorrow for all the trucking news you need!
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