Full transcript
0:05[Music]
0:09I've been a trucker for close to 15
0:11years now this happened to me in
0:142017 I was driving an overnight Hall
0:17through the Mojave desert in California
0:19headed for a destination in Arizona I
0:22think I was delivering appliances I
0:24don't really remember it was pitch black
0:26darkness in every direction the
0:29headlights on my sem me were really dim
0:30at the time and I'd been putting off
0:32getting them fixed forever usually I
0:35couldn't tell the difference but since
0:37there were basically no other cars on
0:38the road it was much more obvious I
0:41remember having to strain my eyes every
0:43few minutes to make out the road in the
0:44distance that could have been a horror
0:46story in of itself I was debating ping
0:49over for a couple hours and waiting for
0:51Sunrise but I didn't want to waste my
0:53time I desperately needed the money at
0:56the time so I kept driving even though
0:58it wasn't fully safe I figured since it
1:01was basically a straight line it would
1:02be okay I think it was about an hour
1:05before Sunrise when I saw something
1:07approaching fast in the distance worried
1:10about hitting an animal I slammed on the
1:13brakes as my truck screeched to a stop I
1:16realized what was in front of me a car
1:18with its hazards on the weird thing was
1:21that it was in the exact middle of the
1:23road like literally on the double yellow
1:26what was even weirder was that the
1:28passenger door was wide open
1:30my truck stopped maybe a foot before
1:32hitting it not to toot my own horn but
1:35I'm a pretty Fearless guy and I know my
1:37way around a bar fight because of this I
1:40wasn't really scared when I saw the car
1:42I was more Curious than anything I
1:44thought maybe someone needed a jump or
1:46something so I reversed the semi and
1:48pulled over I thought about throwing
1:50some flares down but decided against it
1:53since I hadn't seen a single other car
1:54on the road besides this one I got out
1:57of my truck and made my way over to the
1:59car
2:00it was a warm still night I remember
2:03thinking how strange it was that there
2:05was almost no wind it was also really
2:07quiet that night the faint click of the
2:10hazards was the only sound in what felt
2:12like the entire desert I got a little
2:15closer to the car I vividly remember
2:18that it was a new looking red Ford
2:20Fusion I approached the car a little
2:22cautiously like I said the passenger
2:25door was wide open I walked around the
2:27car and stopped in my tracks
2:30it was completely empty I made sure of
2:32it too check in the back seat and
2:34anywhere someone might be laying down
2:37there was literally no one inside all of
2:40a sudden I was much less sure about the
2:42situation I was expecting someone to
2:44need help of some sort maybe even
2:46someone who took a nap in a really dumb
2:48spot I certainly wasn't expecting this
2:50though the car was literally empty I
2:54cast a few glances over my shoulder
2:56feeling a lot more uneasy now I kept
2:58whipping my head around looking in every
3:01direction I felt like someone was going
3:03to charge me or something the problem
3:05was it was so dark that I couldn't see
3:07that far in front of me except for what
3:09was lit up by my truck's headlights it
3:11was Eerie I waited a while longer
3:15thinking about getting back in my truck
3:16and forgetting about this whole thing
3:18someone was out there
3:20somewhere against my better judgment I
3:23decided to keep investigating I looked
3:26inside the car but everything seemed
3:28completely normal the key was even in
3:30the ignition although the engine was
3:32turned off I got back out of the car and
3:35made my way over to the trunk might as
3:37well have a look I figured I went to
3:40open it but it wouldn't budge locked I
3:43grabbed the key out of the ignition and
3:45unlocked the trunk still though the
3:47thing wouldn't budge it was jammed from
3:49the inside somehow I opened the back
3:52door and tried getting at the trunk
3:54through the back seat to my surprise it
3:56actually opened there were three squish
3:59garbage bags back there along with a
4:02rope that was tying the trunk closed I
4:05remember glancing one more time over my
4:06shoulder before reaching for them the
4:09coast was clear I must have been within
4:115 in from one of the bags when the
4:14loudest gunshot I've ever heard rang out
4:16into the night I slammed my head on the
4:18roof of the car in shock I didn't even
4:21think I threw the keys on the front seat
4:24and got out of the car as fast as I
4:26could as I was climbing into my semi I
4:28heard a grungy voice voice yelling in
4:30the distance he yelled hey a bunch of
4:32times and his voice seemed to be quickly
4:34approaching I scrambled into the semi
4:37and turned it on I threw it in gear as
4:39fast as I could I remember cursing a
4:42bunch of times as the engine initially
4:44stalled and that's when I saw it as my
4:47truck began pulling out I saw a person
4:49standing at the trunk of the car it was
4:52a short husky guy with red hair he was
4:54wearing overalls and shinh high boots in
4:57his left hand he was holding a small
4:59shovel in his right though was an old
5:02looking hunting rifle we locked eyes for
5:05a few seconds as my truck began to drive
5:07past him he didn't move I remember him
5:10not looking crazy or anything he had
5:13this worried look on his face as I
5:15passed him he dropped his shovel and
5:17started waving his hands he yelled
5:20weight a few times but I wasn't staying
5:22there another second as I drove away I
5:25watched in the rearview mirror as he ran
5:26after my truck for a few seconds before
5:28sprinting back to his car it was clear
5:31he wanted me to stop but there was
5:33absolutely no way I was going to do that
5:35I stepped on it pushing the semi much
5:37faster than I should have I drove for
5:40like 5 minutes and started to think I
5:42was in the clear but then I saw
5:44headlights fast approaching behind me I
5:47remember feeling more scared than I've
5:48ever felt in my entire life I called the
5:51police and told them what happened to
5:52the best of my ability that's when the
5:54car was basically right on my tail it
5:57started honking like crazy at me I
6:00honestly didn't know what to do so I
6:01just kept driving praying to God he
6:03wouldn't try and RAM me after like 15
6:06minutes of this he cut in front of me
6:07and hit his brakes forcing me to slow
6:10down I was just about to crash into him
6:13when finally some flashing police lights
6:15appeared ahead the Ford veered off to
6:17the right and sped into the desert
6:19disappearing from sight I pulled over
6:21and waited for the officer to show up I
6:24frantically told him what had happened
6:26but the useless cop decided to get a
6:28report from me rather than chase the guy
6:29down I was so pissed about that I told
6:33the guy like twice that he could
6:34probably catch up to him if he left now
6:37the cop told me not to worry and that
6:39they' do a thorough search as soon as
6:40backup arrived he sent me on my way and
6:43said they'd call me if they ever had an
6:44update for me they never did none of my
6:48buddies have a story this crazy and I've
6:50told it more times than I can count I
6:52know what you're probably thinking that
6:54guy was definitely burying bodies that
6:57doesn't really explain why he had such a
6:59small shovel or why he tried to follow
7:01me the bags in his trunk were also too
7:04small for that although some of my
7:05buddies think he might have done some
7:07dismembering for my own sanity I like to
7:10think that he was burying some other
7:12kind of animal maybe putting a diseased
7:14dog out of its misery or some dangerous
7:16snakes I really have no idea either way
7:20I've never been totally comfortable
7:22driving through deserts late at night
7:23after this experience
7:27[Music]
7:34I'm sure you've seen some of the more
7:36modern videos online where truckers will
7:38document their daily routines and
7:40provide tips for each other or maybe you
7:42haven't but being as I'm on the younger
7:44side in this industry every time I open
7:47Tik Tok or YouTube shorts that's all I
7:49see I won't get into it but I had to
7:52drop out of a pretty prestigious
7:53University for some personal reasons and
7:55people always tell me I could have been
7:57more than a trucker it's honestly not a
7:59that gig though I've been making
8:02deliveries for north of 2 years
8:04obviously the only strenuous part of the
8:06job is the long hours you can never
8:09truly gauge how the isolation will
8:10affect you without experiencing it
8:12firsthand my only advice would be to
8:15make peace with whatever demons might be
8:17lurking in your subconscious because
8:18they'll definitely eat at your brain in
8:20the lonely hours that's what happened to
8:23me
8:23anyway this happened to me 3 months
8:26after getting employed by my first
8:28company I was basically as new in this
8:30trade as one could get I was driving
8:33from Southern New Jersey to Lafayette
8:35Indiana a 12-hour drive 12 hours driving
8:38might not seem that crazy but factor in
8:41the fact that I just completed an 8-h
8:42hour trip and that should put things
8:44into perspective I wanted to get
8:46deliveries done as quickly as possible
8:48so I opted to drive through the night
8:51I'd get to Lafayette just before 300
8:53a.m. things were going smoothly there
8:56were virtually no other cars on the road
8:58so I was able to push the send me a
8:59little faster than normal about halfway
9:02through the drive I remember reaching
9:04down at the center console to chug a Red
9:06Bull but there weren't any of course I
9:09had forgotten to restock my truck after
9:11completing my previous delivery after
9:13slapping my dashboard a few times I
9:15groaned in frustration knowing I'd have
9:18to stop somewhere there was nothing I
9:20hated more than having to make stops
9:22during my
9:23drives I might be unique in this but I
9:25always get exponentially more tired when
9:27my vehicle is in Mobile even if I'm only
9:30stopped for like 20 seconds after
9:32glancing up at the navigation I figured
9:35I had no choice either fall asleep on
9:37the road or stop and get an energy drink
9:40in my brain those options were pretty
9:42much equivalent reluctantly I pulled
9:45into the first service stop I saw I had
9:48literally no clue where I was probably
9:50somewhere in Ohio at this point too late
9:53I realized this wasn't actually a
9:55service stop it was what looked like an
9:57abandoned gas station and a repurposed
9:59conven store not sure if there's any
10:01better way to describe it either way it
10:04looked like there was another Quick Stop
10:05store not far up the road so I figured
10:08I'd go there if anything I parked the
10:10semi and made my way over to the First
10:12Convenience Store to be completely
10:14honest I was expecting one of two things
10:16to happen either the place would be open
10:19or the door would be locked you can
10:21imagine my surprise then when the door
10:23swung open into a pitch black store I
10:26looked around hoping maybe I'd get lucky
10:29and there there would be a drink or
10:30snack left
10:31behind just before I was about to turn
10:33around my eyes adjusted to the darkness
10:36and I picked up on a faint glow
10:38emanating from the corner of the room I
10:41made my way over to it and the glow
10:42turned out to be coming from a back room
10:44of some sort curiosity got the better of
10:47me and I opened the door slowly to my
10:50pleasant surprise there was a plugged in
10:52refrigerator against the wall eagerly I
10:55opened the door but found nothing
10:57literally nothing the shelves had
10:59literally been removed like the whole
11:02Appliance had been gutted as I was
11:04shutting the door I was 90% certain I
11:07heard a clatter from the main room like
11:10something hitting the floor I froze for
11:12a good 10 seconds had I imagined it
11:15there was no way quietly I walked back
11:18into the main room and looked around
11:21nothing part of me wanted to keep
11:23investigating I didn't have time for
11:25this though I walked out the entrance
11:27door and basically jogged to the other
11:29shop it was open thank God I paid for my
11:33drink and made it back to my truck
11:35something about this whole stop felt
11:38wrong I needed to get back on the road
11:40as soon as possible I took one last
11:43glance at the abandoned store and
11:45noticed the door was now
11:47open I was 100% positive I had shut it
11:50behind me it wasn't my job to figure out
11:53what was going on here though so I
11:54started the engine and merged my semi
11:56back onto the highway the caffeine
11:59started started kicking in and snapped
12:00me out of my tired Haze pretty quickly
12:03my mind began to wander and I started
12:05thinking about how bizarre that whole
12:06thing had actually been I guess a
12:08squatter or an abandoned building wasn't
12:10the strangest thing in the world but my
12:12brain couldn't explain that refrigerator
12:14no matter what theory I thought of I
12:17tried to forget about it and kept
12:18driving it was then that I started
12:20noticing weird movements in the curtain
12:22behind me sweat started dripping down my
12:25forehead I watched in the rearview
12:27mirror as the curtain seemed to Billow
12:29and move even though I didn't have the
12:31air on I thought the worst there was
12:34someone in my
12:36truck I didn't have any weapons on me or
12:38anything so I discreetly punched in the
12:40nearest police station on my phone the
12:43drive there was the most tense and
12:44horrifying 20 minutes of my life I kept
12:47imagining that person reaching out to
12:49grab me or trying to crash my truck
12:52finally I approached the police station
12:54I stopped the semi as close as I
12:56possibly could get and basically ran
12:58over to the police station
12:59in seconds my truck was surrounded by
13:02police and after I opened the back what
13:04I saw will stay with me for Life the
13:07police pulled out three Homeless looking
13:09people two men and one woman they were
13:11wearing rags and were wrapped in nasty
13:14looking blankets one of the men was
13:16armed with two switch blades all three
13:18of them refused to talk but stared
13:21menacingly at me as they were getting
13:23cuffed I have no idea what they wanted I
13:26don't think I'll ever know
13:31[Music]
13:36my name is Kevin I've been a trucker for
13:39variant companies for the better part of
13:4115 years now things have become pretty
13:43routine at this point pick up the goods
13:46and materials verify them for accuracy
13:48and deliver them as instructed we're not
13:51paid by the hour so efficiency is the
13:53most important thing in this line of
13:54work for someone like me who's been
13:57doing this forever I like to think I can
13:59outwork all these young guns that are
14:01snapping these jobs up this isn't always
14:03great though usually I push myself to
14:06the absolute limit when it comes to
14:08functioning on barely any sleep 4 years
14:10ago I was working for a warehouse based
14:13in North Dakota for anyone who doesn't
14:15know North Dakota is one of the flattest
14:17states which makes Trucking a little
14:20easier this also meant that skipping out
14:22on a few hours of sleep could mean the
14:24difference between employment and
14:25getting the
14:26sack it was a chilly Tuesday morning in
14:29May the beginning of the week meant that
14:32more loads needed to be shipped which
14:34meant more work for me I wanted to KN it
14:37all out in one shot so I traced my route
14:39into Montana accordingly planning on not
14:41stopping even once to sleep I hit the
14:44road a few hours after lunch expecting
14:46to reach my destination very early the
14:48next morning I pushed the semi as much
14:51as possible doing maybe a couple over
14:53the speed limit it was getting late and
14:56I remember rubbing the crust for my
14:57eyelids as the clock ticked past
14:59midnight I was having trouble keeping my
15:01eyes open but I only had about an hour
15:03left in this drive so I gritted my teeth
15:06and kept going my buddy Tristan who was
15:09also a trucker introduced me to smelling
15:11salts when I first started out if you
15:14don't know smelling salts are basically
15:16some kind of crystals in a little bottle
15:18one Sniff and you're wide awake you had
15:21to be careful though too many backtack
15:23uses could be dangerous or at least
15:25that's what Tristan told me they burn
15:28your nose a little bit but whenever I
15:29needed a boost I'd reach for the
15:31smelling salts first this was one of
15:33those times I took a big whiff and shot
15:36my head back my reflexes taking over I
15:40felt the adrenaline coarse through my
15:41body and I hoped the feeling would last
15:43the rest of the drive a half hour shot
15:46by and I was really struggling I felt
15:49myself start to doze off and the blare
15:51of my truck drifting into the shoulder
15:53jolted me awake this was getting
15:55dangerous I thought I had to pull off I
15:59was all alone on the highway but there
16:01was nowhere to pull off there was just
16:03Woods on either side of me I slowed the
16:06truck down searching desperately for
16:08somewhere to pull over at this low speed
16:11my headlights pierced through the
16:12darkness and I was able to see a lot
16:14more as I looked around I saw something
16:17that confused me there was a purple
16:19dress lying in the middle of the road
16:21what the hell I thought rubbing my eyes
16:24was I hallucinating I blinked like six
16:27times just to make sure I wasn't going
16:29crazy it was real I approached the dress
16:32with my truck and stared at it as I
16:34rolled by in hindsight this should have
16:36been more of a red flag but I think I
16:39was just too exhausted to process what
16:40was going on about 200 or so yards away
16:44I passed a pair of shoes now I was
16:47starting to freak out what the hell was
16:49going on I passed the shoes praying to
16:52God there would be a place to pull off
16:54soon my old man David was a super
16:56religious guy so I clutched his old
16:59cross and hoped he would come through
17:00for me a little further up the road I
17:03saw a bunch more random clothing some of
17:06which looked like little kids clothing
17:08this time I stopped the truck the Panic
17:10started to set in something was very
17:13very wrong I sat in the driver's seat
17:16with the truck at a standstill I was
17:18expecting something to happen but it
17:20never did so I did what my instincts
17:23told me to do I stepped out of the truck
17:25and went to inspect the
17:27clothing I still remember remember the
17:29feeling of the chilly morning air
17:30piercing my skin which definitely helped
17:33my
17:33exhaustion I approached the pile as
17:36cautiously as I could it was indeed kids
17:38clothing it looked like there were both
17:40boy and girl pieces of clothing in the
17:42pile I looked around into the woods but
17:45I couldn't see much of anything in the
17:47darkness I had my head on a swivel
17:50worried that this was some kind of trap
17:52I decided it was not my business to
17:54figure out what was going on so I made
17:56my way back to my truck just then I
17:59heard a crunch from the left I whipped
18:02around trying to see what was there I
18:04stood there waiting to hear another
18:07sound after about 30 seconds there was
18:10another crunch but this time from the
18:12opposite side of the road my survival
18:14instincts kicked in and I sprinted
18:16towards the truck I jumped into the
18:19front seat but just before I slammed the
18:21door I heard a child scream ring
18:25out I froze my heart bursting out of my
18:28chest
18:29I was caught in a Crossroads I wasn't
18:31going to fight some random people in a
18:33pitch black woods but I couldn't just
18:35abandon some helpless kids
18:37either before I could make a decision
18:39another almost identical child's scream
18:41rang out without thinking I turned the
18:44truck on and pointed its nose toward the
18:46spot in the woods where I heard the
18:48noise my headlights lit up about 30
18:50yards into the woods there were three or
18:53four people one of whom was holding a
18:55massive speaker they ducked behind a
18:57couple trees as my truck lit them up but
19:00I had exposed them for just enough time
19:01to make out what they were doing they
19:03hid from the light before I could really
19:05make out any distinctive features but I
19:07swear on my old man David's grave they
19:09were holding up a speaker trying to lure
19:11me into the woods with a fake kid
19:13screaming I was just in shock I just sat
19:16there staring at the trees those people
19:18had just hid behind I reached for my
19:21phone to call the police but before I
19:23finished dialing I heard a thump from
19:25the body of the truck someone had thrown
19:27something from the other direction ction
19:29I was done I turned back to face the
19:31road and slammed on the gas as I sped
19:34off I could make out a person on the
19:36other side of the road he shouted
19:38something I couldn't understand before
19:40launching something at the truck that
19:41cracked the glass of my passenger side
19:43window I drove the final hour in silence
19:47I was too scared to process what had
19:48just happened but there was no way in
19:50hell I was stopping to sleep in those
19:52woods I completed my delivery and then
19:54knocked out I must have slept for 10
19:57hours straight when I woke up the first
20:00thing I did was call the police who told
20:02me they'd investigate those woods and
20:03give me any updates I then thought about
20:06the whole thing and how stupid I was to
20:07get out of my truck I should have just
20:09minded my own business but the thought
20:12of some kids being kidnapped or Worse
20:14was just too much for me to ignore to
20:16this day I still have no idea what those
20:18people were trying to do I don't know
20:21why they didn't just rush me when they
20:22had the chance or what they were
20:24planning to do to me if I ran out in the
20:26woods after the kids screaming and all
20:28my years of being a trucker nothing has
20:30ever come close to being as strange or
20:32downright terrifying as this experience