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Published July 04, 2008 11:11 am - Herb Poppe has been able to keep things in perspective. He feels that the very fact that he is here to talk about the accident is nothing short of a miracle.
'We can't get another Herbie': Trucker recuperating after crash
By Scott Meeker
smeeker@joplinglobe.com
Settled into a plush red recliner, Herb Poppe sits in his living room, legs outstretched in front of him.
On a table next to his chair, a large cup of water, a remote control and a book of word-search puzzles sit within arm’s reach.
He’s comfortable, but after 21 years behind the wheel of a truck, driving a chair isn’t where Poppe wants to be.
“You lose track of time,” he said. “I’m not used to laying around.”
He’s had his down moments. A husband’s responsibility is to provide for his family, he said, and being off his feet for the last two months hasn’t been easy.
But Poppe has also been able to keep things in perspective.
“If it wasn’t for God, I wouldn’t be here now,” he said. “I know I came real close to dying.”
The pictures that were provided to him by the wrecker service say it all. The twisted mass of steel is barely recognizable as the cab of his tractor-trailer.
And he feels that the very fact that he is here to talk about the accident is nothing short of a miracle.
‘In slow motion’
In the early morning hours of May 2, Poppe was behind the wheel of the 18-wheeler he drove for Standard Transportation, heading south on Highway 69 — on his way to Aurora after picking up a full load at Coca-Cola in Lenexa, Kan.
Passing through Overland Park, Kan., the truck was being pounded by wind and rain as the second wave of severe thunderstorms to hit the Kansas City area in less than a day moved through.
It wasn’t unusual for Poppe to be on the road at 3 a.m. After all, it’s the life of a trucker.
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