ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office is trying to find out who attacked and robbed a semi-truck driver after he pulled over to rest.
David Porter said in the past, he’s pulled over into vacant lots, rest areas, or on the side of the road to take a break.
“It’s scary to think about,” Porter said about the man getting robbed.
Police said the man pulled over near a vacant lot by County Road 204 and US 1 South to rest where he was robbed by a person on Thursday night a little after 10:00 p.m.
Deputies said the person entered the truck cabin with a gun and a crowbar. They hit the semi-truck driver in the head with the gun multiple times and left with money and the driver’s phone.
The phone was eventually located outside of the truck and the driver was able to call for help.
Porter said this is not the first time he’s heard of a semi-truck driver being attacked like this before.
Stories like these have led him to operate differently.
“It does tend to make you think more when you go into a situation. ‘Hey what do I need to look for or hey this could be a trap’,” Porter said.
Porter said this can be a dangerous industry especially when drivers have to rest.
“The keys for semis are very neutral to say. You can take my truck for instance which is a freightliner. If I put 10 freightliners in a lot and I take the key from my truck. Nine out of 10 I’m going to be able to unlock eight of them trucks with my key. The key cut semis is very low in my opinion,” Porter said.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney said the person in the video may have done something like this before.
“It certainly makes you believe that with the violence that’s demonstrated in this case, this wouldn’t be the first time that you have this occur. So it certainly seems like something they’ve done before,” Hackney said.
He also gave some tips for drivers to stay safe when they have to rest.
“Try to avoid isolated areas. If you can help it there’s safety in numbers and the latest trend is to have these dash cams and some of the higher-end ones film inside the vehicle and that goes for trucks and passenger cars as well. It’s really a good idea,” Hackney said.
He added that it’s important that anyone with information contact the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office at 904-824-8304 so that person doesn’t do this again.
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