Jesus, just 34. It's not rational, but I get more nervous driving up in Maine than I do in Jersey. If I have to pull over, I try to get the hell off the interstate if at all possible. Not so easy to do up there with those long stretches.
Yeah, I hated being on the interstate.
I had worked the night before and was extended, finally got home around 3 am. I hit the bed and my phone started blowing up in the morning asking if I was okay. The word got out that a Trooper was killed working out of the same barracks as me.
I called the barracks to ask what was going on, they told me Benny died.
I immediately got dressed and got into my cruiser and went 10-8. I knew help was going to be needed. I got a phone call asking if I would help process the scene since I was an ERT. I said I would head up.
My Sgt called me and said to disregard, command staff decided to let the SO process the scene since there was going to be multiple investigations and law suits out of it, they didn't want a conflict of interest.
So I drove to the barracks and sat in the Troopers Room, everyone started showing up including retired Troopers.
It was a light snow storm and Benny at the time was a member of the polygraph team, he was driving down to the academy. He came across a car that had spun out and was against the guard rail.
Benny stopped to check on him and a logging truck was driving by, one of his wheels detached and struck Benny, killing him instantly.
Him and his wife had just had a baby in the past year.
I had to go back and search that stretch for the lug nuts from the tire because the SO missed them during the initial investigation.
I hate driving past that location.
It was like a one in a billion accident.