Some truckers are voicing their concerns over the recent death of a young female driver found in a truck stop parking lot, saying that, when it comes to drivers’ safety, “something has to happen.”
25-year-old Karmeshia Thomas was found passed away and “covered in blood” inside of her cab at the Mardi Gras Truck Stop on Elysian Fields in New Orleans, Louisiana last week and since then, many in the trucking community seem to have taken notice of a death that seems to be shrouded in mystery.
“I really, really think that someone did something to her. I don’t know if she had been poisoned. I don’t really know,” said the victim’s mother, Joyce Thomas, who says that the last time her family heard from her daughter was September 9th, when she called them from the truck stop to let them know she had been “pick pocketed” and no longer had her cell phone. Karmeshia had been driving for KLLM Transport services for nearly a year at the time of her death, which is still under investigation.
“This is a sad, sad, sad day for us as far as drivers in the trucking community,” said one lady driver on her YouTube channel.
“We’ve got a lot of females that’s entering the industry. And we’ve got to be able to protect ourselves out here on the road.”
“Guys would try a woman much faster than they’ll try a big man like themselves,” said Andre Charlot, CEO of T.A. Charlot Trucking who has been in the industry since 1985, reported 4 WWL.
“You pull into one of these truck stops and you’re basically on your own… It’s bad right now. Something has to happen for it to get better. From the security on down.”
Charlot advises other drivers to “try not to park way in the back. Get whatever you need for you to sleep in your truck over night. Keep your cell phone ready to dial 911 if you have to. And get whatever you need before darkness.”
“We’re the backbone of America,” he continued.
“We haul everything that comes to people’s homes, businesses and all…but we’re poorly respected. We’re not treated well.”