'We can't get another Herbie': Trucker recuperating after crash

July 04, 2008 11:16 am

— 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.
“You can start out any time,” he said. “In trucking, you have to be there when they need you.”
He also wasn’t that phased by the weather. He had driven through worse and, besides, his truck was carrying a full load. At 78,000 pounds, the 2005 International 9400i could hold its own against most anything Mother Nature threw at it.
But as conditions worsened, Poppe slowed his truck down to about 55 mph just to be on the safe side.
And then, the wind — a microburst, he was later told — blew his truck into the median. It tore through the guardrail and plunged over a 20-foot drop.
“For the longest time, I knew something was happening, that I was through the guardrail,” Poppe said. “Then, it was like nothing happened for a while. And all of a sudden, crash!”
The truck landed on 179th Street and plowed into the base of a bridge, the impact instantly turning the cab into a mass of mangled metal.
“I could see the dash coming back toward me in slow motion,” said Poppe. “It stopped just three or four inches from my chest.”
Two motorists who witnessed the accident immediately called 911 and waited at the scene, talking to Poppe and keeping him conscious until rescue personnel arrived.
It took about 20 minutes for them to reach him, but extracting him from the wreckage took nearly twice that. Extrication equipment was brought in, but to no avail. They had to use a reciprocating saw to cut the door from the truck, and then cut the clutch off, as Poppe’s right leg was wrapped around it.
‘Very blessed’
The phone at Poppe’s Joplin home rang at about 4 a.m.
His wife, Barbara, answered and was informed that her husband had been injured in an accident. She was told that he was being taken for an MRI and a CT scan.
“I called my daughter in Carthage and my son-in-law came over,” Barbara said. “The hospital called back and took the phone in so I could talk to Herb. Then my son-in-law drove me up.”
Also receiving a call was Todd Stout, vice president of operations for Standard Transportation.
“The Overland Park Police Department called my house to tell me there had been an accident,” Stout said. “But they said they were not able to tell me who it was.
“I told them that there was a unit number on the truck, but they said they couldn’t get it. I didn’t understand until they said the truck was too demolished to get it. That’s when I knew it was serious.”
The accident pushed Poppe’s leg up through his hip socket, which required surgery that day to be reconstructed. He was put in traction, and had surgery several days later to put plates and screws in because of his damaged hip. He also had two broken ribs, a cut on his leg that required only one staple to close and some bruises.
“We’re very blessed that he came out of it with no more injuries than he did,” Barbara said. “The paramedics, police and firemen said they never pull anyone alive from such an accident.”
Poppe said that he felt supported by his employers and co-workers at Standard Transportation. He said that he had visitors from the company come to see him in Kansas City several times during his stay there.
“When I went up to see him in the hospital, one of the first things he did was apologize about the truck,” Stout said. “That shows you what kind of guy he is. I told him, ‘We can get another truck, but we can’t get another Herbie.’”
After two weeks in the hospital in Kansas City, he was transferred by ambulance to the Brady Building at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. After two weeks there, he was discharged and returned home.
Not a victim
After several weeks at home, Poppe is doing well.
He has several visits a week from a physical therapist and a home-health nurse to aid in his recovery, and his medical bills have been covered by workers comp. Doctors have said he’ll probably have to use a wheelchair to get around for several months, then a walker, and then likely a cane after that.
“I’m hoping that I can get back to driving,” Poppe said. “The orthopedic surgeon said I should be able to drive a truck again, but I don’t know when that will be. It will be awhile before I can climb into a truck.”
He watches TV, reads his Bible, works on his book of word-search puzzles and, thanks to the pain medication, takes more than a few naps.
His wife also helps to keep his spirits up. As Barbara talked about his recovery, she gently teased him by pointing out the TED hose he has to wear on his legs to keep his circulation up.
“He gets to wear panty hose,” she said playfully.
“It’s not panty hose,” Poppe sighed, but with a smile.
“No, they’re thigh-highs,” his wife cracked.
Stout said that what was salvageable from Poppe’s truck was brought back to Joplin on a flatbed, but it wasn’t much. The rear axles from the trailer, and the engine and transmission were returned. While not salvageable as a whole, there are parts that can be, he said.
Everything else, including Poppe’s personal items in the truck, was destroyed — save a pair of glasses he had clipped to his visor. They were returned without a scratch.
“Any time you have adversity or a difficult situation, people’s character comes out,” said Stout, who is also Poppe’s neighbor. “Herbie’s character came out in this. He’s putting a positive spin on a very difficult situation.
“He’s got a strong faith, and that helps a lot. Instead of a victim, he feels like he won the lottery.”
Poppe said he does feel lucky to be alive.
“Twenty-one years of driving a truck, and I never dreamed I would have a bad accident like that,” he said. “Truck drivers usually don’t worry about storms. I’ve been within a mile or half a mile of a tornado, and I really didn’t think anything of it.
“It’ll make me stop and think now, I guarantee you.”

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