He logged a lot of miles on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and L.A., usually leaving early in the morning and getting home late at night – if everything went right with exchanging his loads and traffic. If Tim got held up, he would sleep in his tractor along the way somewhere. Tim drove a 2001 Freightliner Century Class integrated sleeper tractor and hauled a single trailer. Unfortunately for Tim, his employer did not request the optional emergency exit door from Freightliner when they bought the truck.

On the day before he died, Tim got held up in L.A. getting his load and by the time he made it through the rush hour traffic on I-10, it was late and he decided to stop in Indio, California near Palm Springsto get some rest. He called Renee at 11:47 p.m. and told her he’d wake her in the morning when he got home. After that call, apparently changing his mind and wanting to get back home to his family, Tim took a pill to stay awake and got back on the Interstate toward home. A few miles later, for reasons unknown, Tim’s rig drifted off the road to the left, hit a bridge abutment and rolled onto its left side in a dry wash. Another trucker, Mike, was right behind Tim and saw the accident, quickly parked his rig and ran to help.

By the time Mike got to Tim’s rig, it was already on fire – the fuel tanks had ruptured and the spilled fuel ignited from the