Several truck drivers have recently been involved in highway incidents, including a trucker who was shot and killed after he attacked a police officer with a screwdriver, a driver caught attempting to smuggle illegal immigrants into the U.S., and a trucker who was found dead in his truck at a gas station near Richmond, Kentucky.
A North Carolina-based truck driver was shot and killed by a police officer in Sugarcreek, Ohio, on Wednesday, June 26, after he attacked the officer with a screwdriver, according to a report from the Times-Reporter.
The report states that 32-year-old Elijah Collins III was being issued a citation by Sugarcreek Police Capt. Brian Dalton for damaging property after driving into an area where trucks are prohibited.
Body camera footage from Dalton shows that he was writing the citation and explaining to Collins that he would need to appear in court when Collins grabbed a screwdriver out of the side pocket of the door and stabbed Dalton twice in the neck. After a brief scuffle, a series of about a dozen rapid gunshots can be heard. In the video, Collins appeared calm before he lunged at Dalton.
The Times-Reporter report states that Dalton did not need surgery and has been discharged from the local hospital.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents arrested a truck driver on July 2 for human smuggling after they found 33 foreign nationals hidden in his trailer at the I-19 Immigration Checkpoint in Nogales, Arizona.
