Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Nov. 8, 2024:
SoCal police bust in-progress cargo theft
The Barstow Police Department this week stopped an in-progress cargo theft and arrested seven individuals who were at the scene following a pursuit.Barstow Police Department
The Barstow, California, Police Department this week stopped a cargo theft attempt as it was happening after receiving a call from a truck driver alerting police that he could see people stealing items from his trailer and loading them into a van.
Barstow Police officers responded to the location. As they approached the tractor-trailer, they were spotted by the subjects, who entered their van and fled the location. Officers attempted a traffic enforcement stop on the van; however, the vehicle's driver, Victor Ramirez, a 62-year-old resident of Los Angeles, failed to yield to officers, and a pursuit was initiated.
The pursuit terminated in the desert area near Osbourne Road and Agate Road when Ramirez stopped the vehicle, and seven occupants fled from the van in various directions. Officers requested the assistance of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Aviation Unit.
Barstow PD officers, BPD K9 Boyke, and the aviation unit searched the area for the subjects. After an extensive search, all seven subjects were located and arrested without further incident. Officers recovered more than 100 Shark vacuums valued at over $23,000, which were returned to the victim.
Ramirez was transported and booked at the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Jail in Barstow for vehicle burglary, grand theft, felony evading, driving in opposing lanes while evading, and conspiracy to commit burglary.
The passengers -- 28-year-old Jim Espinoza, 31-year-old Manuel Guerrero, 30-year-old Juan Guzman, 32-year-old Jose Rodriguez-Lozano, 26-year-old Piero Tobar and 37-year-old Geovany Washington, all residents of Los Angeles -- were transported and booked at the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Jail in Barstow for burglary, grand theft, and conspiracy to commit burglary.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation can contact Officer Gavin Riley at (760) 256-2211 or [email protected]. Those wishing to remain anonymous may also provide information by calling the WE-TIP hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27469) or going to www.wetip.com.
[Related: Cargo theft up in third quarter compared to 2023]
Specialized, heavy-haul carrier org opens registration for annual symposium
The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) has opened registration for its annual Specialized Transportation Symposium, which will be held Feb. 18-20, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The keynote speaker for the event will be NASCAR visionary and motorsports industry innovator Andy Papathanassiou, who will share how, whether it's pit crews, sales teams or groups that come together to accomplish any goal, the characteristics of successful teams are universal.
General sessions will focus on safety and relevant OS/OW permitting, as well as recruiting and retaining the next generation of the specialized transportation workforce. A full agenda can be found here.
Attendees will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with attending state officials for pre-scheduled 15-minute windows. SC&RA members will need to pre-register for appointments.
Registration for the event is available here.
[Related: 'High, wide and ugly': The most specialized hauls of the year]
Free Veterans Day meal for veterans at Pilot
In honor of Veterans Day, Pilot is saluting those who’ve served by extending a free meal to military service members and their families on Monday, Nov. 11 at participating Pilot, Flying J and One9 Fuel Network travel centers nationwide.
Additionally, Pilot will continue its long-standing support of Call of Duty Endowment with a $100,000 donation to kickstart this year’s round-up campaign and is inviting guests to join in contributing to Call of Duty Endowment to help veterans transition into rewarding civilian careers after military service.
From Nov. 9 through Nov, 30, 2024, Pilot customers can choose to round up their in-store purchase to the nearest dollar at any participating Pilot, Flying J or One9 Fuel Network travel center. All proceeds will be directly donated to Call of Duty Endowment. Since 2019, Pilot and its guests have raised over $4 million for Call of Duty Endowment, resulting in more than 7,000 successful veteran career placements.
"We are deeply grateful to our nation's veterans and their families for their sacrifice and service and consider it a privilege to express our thanks with a complimentary meal at our stores on Veterans Day,” said Brad Anderson, chief operating officer at Pilot. "With our guests’ generous support, Pilot will continue making a lasting difference for service members and their families. We take pride in and appreciate our many veteran team members and are thankful to be able to give back in such a meaningful way by helping other veterans find rewarding careers.”
On Veterans Day, service members and their families verified through ID.me in the myRewards Plus app will be eligible for a free meal credit up to $12. The Veterans Day offer can be claimed on November 11 through Pilot’s myRewards Plus app and redeemed at participating Pilot, Flying J and One9 Fuel Network travel centers on a variety of food and beverage options, including hot and cold deli items, fountain beverages and Pilot coffee.
With successful ID.me verification, service members can also enjoy exclusive deals and a year-round 10% discount on food and beverages at participating Pilot, Flying J and One9 Fuel Network travel centers when checking out with myRewards Plus.
Driver named Highway Angel for helping elderly woman with medical emergency
Eric “Zach” Rogers, a Carter Express Inc. truck driver from Florence, Alabama, has been named a Highway Angel by the Truckload Carriers Association for helping an elderly woman who crashed her car while experiencing a medical emergency.
Eric “Zach” Rogers
“She cut all the way over in front of me and then ran off the road and spun and slid, then came back across the highway and ended up in the ditch,” Rogers said.
He stopped and went to assist the elderly female driver and her passenger. He found the driver convulsing, so he called 911.
“She was just out of her mind; she couldn’t talk, and her eyes were rolling back in her head,” Rogers said. “I actually just held her and prayed because she reminded me of my grandmother, and I knew that she was probably somebody’s grandmother -- they probably weren’t ready to lose her.”
He remained with her until emergency services arrived and then completed his load.
“I don’t feel like I did anything special,” Rogers said. “I treated her like I would have wanted someone to treat my grandmother, had they been in the same situation.”
