
A man on a five-day drug binge stole a semi truck that was in motion and threatened to kill its driver in a bizarre incident that occurred earlier this week.
It happened on Wednesday, July 5th at approximately 10 a.m. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
According to Lehigh Valley Live, 32-year-old Terry Lee Edwards Jr. crime-spree started when he broke into a Brighton Street apartment by smashing the sliding glass door, waking the person living there. Once inside, Edwards ripped the thermostat off the wall, approached the tenant, and then jumped out of a window.
After fleeing the scene, Edwards ended up walking down Riverside Drive. A driver in a 2006 Ford Econoline van slowed down to avoid the man, giving Edwards the opportunity to jump onto the passenger side of the vehicle. He held onto the moving van using the side mirror and tried to open the door handle but was unsuccessful so he jumped off.
Edwards then jumped onto the passenger side of a tractor trailer that also slowed down, climbed inside, and began threatening the trucker with a metal bar that had been resting on the floorboard.
“Drive, drive, drive! I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you!” Edwards yelled at the truck driver.
Fearing for his safety, the trucker then jumped out of the moving rig and Edwards climbed into the driver’s seat.
A short distance later, Edwards crashed the rig into both the north and south guardrails of Riverside Drive before exiting the vehicle and jumping into Lehigh River.
Edwards was quickly arrested and police say he was “speaking rapidly, was distracted easily and appeared paranoid,” at the time he was taken into custody.
Edwards later admitted to the use of cocaine, as well as a five-day binge on crystal meth.
“It’s such a quiet street, so quiet here,” said Allan Wilkins, a tenant in the apartment building Edwards broke into.
“Never any trouble, you never see a police car, you never see an ambulance.”
Edwards’ license was already suspended on DUI charges at the time of his arrest
Edwards is being charged with DUI while under suspension, driving under the influence of drugs and fleeing an accident involving damage. He is also facing two counts of vehicle theft, two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle and two counts of receiving stolen property. Edwards will also be facing charges of aggravated assault, burglary, and criminal trespass.
The judge has sent Edwards to prison without bail, while he awaits a preliminary hearing.