A $1,000 reward has been offered in the case of driver Amos Phillips, who was severely beaten while parked at an Idaho truck stop.
The reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the attacker was posted by John Williams, owner of the five-truck fleet Phillips drove for, JWE Inc., based in Camdenton, Missouri. Phillips said the intruder first demanded money, then pounded him with a rock in each hand, leaving his face bloodied and his eye sockets extremely swollen.
Amos Phillips’ facial wounds have largely healed, but he says he’s still unstable on his feet.Williams has also started a gofundme campaign to help Phillips pay for medical expenses.
Phillips was hospitalized twice following the Sept. 3 attack at TP Gas & Truck Stop, on I-15 just north of Pocatello, Idaho, on the Fort Hall Reservation. His cheeks and nose were broken, and he sustained a blood clot on his brain that resulted in seizures.
“I’ve got a long way to go,” Phillips said Thursday. “I’m still not 100 percent stable on my feet. Not sure if it’s the drugs or the blood clot.” He said he’s driving a car, but isn’t sure when he’ll be able to return to truck driving.
Williams said he’s been able to provide some financial assistance to Phillips, who has no health insurance and is the sole provider for his household. His wife and her two children, who are in high school, also live with him in Camdenton.
Phillips says he has no identification of his attacker beyond seeing he was a “tall, muscular” Native American. Phillips fought with the intruder, who fled and left his cap.
Fort Hall Police Detective Brandon Tuia said last week he expected the cap to be sent to the state’s forensics lab that week to be tested for hair and sweat.
