WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — A family member of a man who drove his big rig the wrong way on the Arkansas-Memphis bridge on Interstate 55 spoke to an Arkansas media outlet about the driver on Wednesday.
Christopher Plummer told NEA Report that he learned on Tuesday that his uncle had been involved in an incident on the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge, where he was stopped for driving the wrong way which blocked traffic.
“My uncle is a 75-year-old Vietnam vet, doesn’t smoke, drink, or do drugs,” Plummer said. “[He’s] been driving for over 20 years. He’s not new.”
Plummer spoke to a reporter in hopes of quashing misinformation about the incident and his uncle.
“What we do know is that morning, he had a headache,” Plummer said. “He had a bad headache. He took three aspirin. Then he got on the road.”
The truck driver, a resident of Kentucky has no memory of what happened on Tuesday when he was pulled from his truck, Plummer said. The family mentioned several signs that could indicate a stroke, though no medical confirmation has been provided.
“This was not intentional,” Plummer said. “He’s not a foreigner. This has nothing to do with the unfortunate situation in Florida. The family is very happy that no one was hurt and there was no accident.”
The video ends showing his uncle being taken into custody. Plummer said he was not arrested, and after the video stopped, police sought medical attention for the man when they realized something was wrong. The driver, whose family has asked not to be identified was hospitalized in the ICU of a nearby hospital. On Thursday morning, the family said he had been downgraded from the ICU, and his speech was normal.
Fortunately, the man was not physically injured while being detained, Plummer said.
“We don’t have any issues with how the officers handled it. As someone who volunteers with the police department, I didn’t really see anything different that I don’t think anyone would have done.”
Arkansas State Police has not issued any information on the incident.
For now, family members want the public to know this was not intentional or malicious.
“There’s a human element to this, and I don’t think people really get it until it starts happening to them,” Plummer said.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
It’s probably time for him to retire from trucking. If he doesn’t, and something like this happens again, the outcome could be much much worse.