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Customs agents discovered than 600 pounds of methamphetamine, valued at $1.4 million, was discovered hidden in a shipment of green onions at the Otay Mesa, California, commercial facility.

Driver of a truck in police chase disconnect truck from trailer.

For at least the third time in the last several months, the driver of a tractor-trailer led police on a chase, which in this instance ended when a marksman used a high-powered rifle to shoot the truck’s engine to disable it.

Authorities in Ohio report the driver of a truck led police on a nearly three-hour chase on interstates in and around Cincinnati. The chase began shortly before 1 p.m,. and ended on Interstate 275 when the truck’s driver was taken into custody at about 3:45 p.m.

Police say they received calls about a tractor-trailer driving erratically north of Cincinnati. State Highway Patrol officers tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to stop. As the chase unfolded, police say they learned a passenger in the truck was the driver’s wife and was being held against her will. The truck’s driver was said to be armed.

At one point, the woman was released and taken to a hospital to be treated for her injuries.

During the chase, the driver threatened to shoot police and swerved at police vehicles and even drove in reverse toward them. Around 3:45 p.m. the driver stopped the rig and unhooked the trailer.

Not long after that, a police marksman used a .50 caliber rifle to shoot and disable the truck’s engine. When the truck stopped, the driver threatened to harm himself and would not leave the truck. Police ended the standoff but shooting the man with a Taser and a non-lethal foam round.

The driver was treated for his injuries and taken into police custody. The suspect was not identified but police say he was from Georgia.

This was at least the third police chase involving a commercial motor vehicle in recent months. In May a trucker was shot and killed by police during a high-speed chase in western New York. In June, a man drove off with aa tractor-trailer he was a passenger in to flee U.S. Marshals in Pennsylvania. That chase ended when the man in the truck and police exchanged gunfire. The man died of bis wounds.

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For the 13th year in a row, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) voted to hike toll rates for drivers.

On July 21, the PTC approved a 6% toll increase for all E-ZPass rates systemwide. This new toll rate will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on January 3, 2021.

The PTC says that the most common toll for a Class-5 tractor trailer will increase from $12.20 to $13 for E-ZPass and from $17.30 to $26.60 for PA Turnpike TOLL BY PLATE customers after the changes approved July 21.

The 6% toll increase will also go into effect for PA Turnpike Toll By Plate rates that had been established prior to 2020 in the following locations:

• Beaver Valley Expressway (I-376);
• Delaware River Bridge (NJ border);
• Gateway Toll Plaza (Ohio border);
• Greensburg Bypass (PA Turnpike 66);
• Keyser Ave. and Clarkes Summit Tolls (Northeastern Extension); and
• Southern Beltway (PA Turnpike 576).

The PTC also rolled out new Toll by Plate rates for facilities that were converted to All-Electric Tolling (ETC) in June 2020.

“As part of its recent systemwide change in toll operations, the Commission today also approved new TOLL BY PLATE rates at toll facilities converted to AET in June. The new rates, which also take effect Jan. 3, 2021, include an average 45% increase over the 2020 cash rate for TOLL BY PLATE motorists to reflect the costs of collections for this tolling method. The new rate will not be applied at the previously mentioned TOLL BY PLATE facilities converted before 2020,” the PTC explained.

“The new TOLL BY PLATE rate reflects the higher costs the Commission incurs to process the toll and collect payment — a pricing approach used by tolling agencies across the nation to cover the costs of administering AET systems,” PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton explained. “This balanced approach allows us to maintain a lower rate for those choosing a payment method that is less costly to manage, while those who choose a pricier payment option absorb those costs.”

On June 2, the PTC announced the layoff of 500 workers due to Coronavirus and due to the conversion to the AET system that permanently ended cash tolling on the Turnpike.

This will mark the thirteenth consecutive year that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has elected to increase tolls. The toll increases have been needed to fund both infrastructure improvements and to fulfill a legal funding obligation to PennDOT.  Compton says that over the last decade, the PTC has paid out nearly $7 billion in toll-backed funding to PennDOT.

In 2018, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) filed suit against the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission for “excessive” toll increases which they say hampered interstate commerce. That suit was dismissed on April 4, 2019, in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. OOIDA is working on an appeal.

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Officials in Nevada are searching for a semi truck they believe may have sparked an 18,340 acre fire in Nevada last week.

According to a press release from the East Fork Fire Protection District in Minden, Nevada, authorities believe a truck’s “faulty exhaust” may have sparked the blaze.

The fire began on Monday, July 6, 2020 at approximately 6:50 pm near the Pine View Estates area, south of Gardnerville, NV. The press release states, “during the investigation, several fires were located along Highway 395.

Fire investigators with the East Fork Fire Protection District, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Land Management, and the USDA Forest Service worked together to investigate the cause of the fire.

They said that the physical evidence they gathered at the scene, “indicates a semi-tractor trailer truck, while operating southbound on Highway 395, most likely experienced a failure in its exhaust system.  This possible failure allowed hot particles to be discharged along the highway right-of-way, igniting dry grass and brush.”

The fire, while still burning, is now 98% contained.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about a truck that was traveling south on Highway 395 on July 6, 2020, at approximately 6:45 pm to email the tip to e-mail address 2020firetips@gmail.com.

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A truck driver and his dog were found deceased in a truck at a truck stop in California.

Barstow, California Police Officer Carson told CDLLife that the trucking company reached out to police after they hadn’t had contact with their driver since Friday. The company, Landmark Trucking of Utah, pinged the truck and saw that it was parked at a Love’s truck stop in Barstow.

The company requested the police to do a well check on the driver.

Officer Carson said that when he arrived, he immediately smelled decomposition.

Upon inspection of the truck, Officer Carson found the driver’s dog deceased, as well.

Officer Carson told CDLLife that it appears that it appeared that the truck had been running but that it had run out of fuel and the windows in the truck were up.

“It’s been very hot the last few days here in Barstow,” Officer Carson said, indicating that the dog likely died of heat exhaustion.

An autopsy is being performed on the driver, Gary Bybee, 62 of Utah. “There are no signs of foul play,” Carson said.

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The preliminary investigation indicates that a 2004 Kenworth was eastbound in the right lane on Interstate 70 in Indiana when the truck came upon traffic that was slowed to merge left for a construction zone.

CAMBRIDGE CITY, Ind. — The Indiana State Police have confirmed that four children died in an accident that involved two tractor-trailers and a Chevrolet passenger vehicle on Interstate 70 in Wayne County, Indiana. The driver of one of the trucks is facing multiple charges, including operating a vehicle while intoxicated as well as reckless homicide.

Around 5 p.m. on July 9, Wayne County Deputies responded to a three-vehicle crash on I-70 near the Cambridge City exit, just west of a construction zone. Upon arrival, deputies found a Chevrolet car and a 2004 Kenworth tractor with a loaded box trailer off the left side of eastbound I-70, both fully engulfed in flames.

The preliminary investigation by law enforcement indicated that the Kenworth was eastbound in the right lane when the drive came upon traffic that had slowed to merge into the left lane for a construction zone.

The Kenworth, now known to be driven by 33-year-old Corey Withrow of Camden, Ohio, failed to slow as it approached the slowed traffic and rear-ended a Chevrolet car in the right lane, pushing the car forward into the left rear corner of a tractor-trailer that was also in the right lane, directly in front of the passenger car. The Kenworth continued, pushing the passenger car into the left lane and eventually onto the berm of the left lane, where the two vehicles burst into flames.

A passerby was able to pull the driver of the passenger car from the vehicle but was unable to rescue the four passengers from the car. Indiana State Police Investigators have identified the fatalities as Anesa Noel Acosta, 15; Quintin Michael McGowan, 13; Brekkin Riley Bruce, 8; and Trentin Beau Bruce, 6. The driver of the car, 34-year-old Aaron Bruce of Kansas City, Missouri, was transported to a hospital in Indianapolis with severe injuries.

Withrow escaped the burning semi with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer that was hit from behind has been identified as Thomas Flaherty, 57, of Springfield, Ohio. He was not injured.

According to public jail records, Withrow has been charged with Level 4 and Level 5 operating while intoxicated; reckless homicide, Level 5; four counts of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated resulting in death; and causing catastrophic injury while operating intoxicated. Jail records indicate Withrow was released at 11:40 p.m. July 10. To view the jail record via the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, click here.

Local news affiliate, WTHR, has reported that preliminary toxicology reports indicate that Withrow was under the influence of multiple drugs.

The Indiana Motor Truck Association shared these thoughts via Facebook: “Four young lives were taken because of Cory Withrow. Cory should have never been behind the wheel of a semi, but he was, and he made terrible and reckless decisions that will impact these families forever.”

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