Racerrod
racerrod
First of all let me say this has been the hardest week of my life. I have been on the phone, the internet, or crying for about a week solid! After getting so many emails, texts, and questions as to which I can not keep up with, I decided to give a brief description here. I DO NOT want any misinformation and rumors floating around about my cousins death. Many of Billys and Tony's friends deserve to know something, rather than nothing or hear say. This is a senseless accident we all can learn from.
We are very thankful that Robert (Sonny) survived this horrible accident and will recover from his injuries and we are so sorry for the loss of Tony and I hear he was a very special man and huge race fan as well. After being released from the hospital, one of the first things Robert did was visit Billy's mother and return some belongings. It took a lot of strength to be able to do this and we certainly commend Robert for his courage and love to our family. This was a huge act of kindness and has meant a lot to Billy's mother! Our prayers continue to go to Tony's family and to Robert as he recovers from his injuries.
Naturally there is still an ongoing investigation in Iowa as to why a loaded 18 wheeler doesn't see a limping vehicle with his emergency flashers on at a 4 lane interstate highway (2 lanes each way) in the right lane trying to exit and get help with a low tire. Some of this is from the police report that is available to everyone online and some is from the Iowa state trooper in charge of the crash scene.
Roberts car was traveling an estimated 30 miles per hour when it was struck by the loaded 2012 Peterbilt in the right lane doing between 65-70. The car was shoved into the right side ditch and spun through a road sign and came to rest. The driver of the truck then went to the next exit and double back because he could not back down the highway to the scene. He called for help and was very shaken. He said he did not even see the vehicle before he hit them. His cell phone records show no recent activity and no drugs or alcohol were found.
So that leaves the conclusion that he either dozed or was distracted by something and we may never know that. In an instant two awesome race fans were gone, my cousin Billy Haffer and his friend Tony Pemberthy. Iowa state police report states that all 3 men were not wearing seat belts and officer Spencer said it probably would not have made any difference. I know my cousin would want others to learn how to avoid such an accident and warn others to be more careful. Officer Spencer said this type of accident should never happen on a straight and flat area of the interstate.
It's still a bad dream to me and the only reason I am posting this is to hopefully remind us all to pay more attention when we are driving. We don't need anymore senseless deaths and hopefully the reality of what happened will help others use more caution when we are driving or when we are near loaded semi's.
Again thanks to all who have prayed and showed support for our lost racing friends and our families. It's been a rough racing season we won't soon forget.
~ Rod Haffer
Cousin and best friend of Photo Billy Haffer
We are very thankful that Robert (Sonny) survived this horrible accident and will recover from his injuries and we are so sorry for the loss of Tony and I hear he was a very special man and huge race fan as well. After being released from the hospital, one of the first things Robert did was visit Billy's mother and return some belongings. It took a lot of strength to be able to do this and we certainly commend Robert for his courage and love to our family. This was a huge act of kindness and has meant a lot to Billy's mother! Our prayers continue to go to Tony's family and to Robert as he recovers from his injuries.
Naturally there is still an ongoing investigation in Iowa as to why a loaded 18 wheeler doesn't see a limping vehicle with his emergency flashers on at a 4 lane interstate highway (2 lanes each way) in the right lane trying to exit and get help with a low tire. Some of this is from the police report that is available to everyone online and some is from the Iowa state trooper in charge of the crash scene.
Roberts car was traveling an estimated 30 miles per hour when it was struck by the loaded 2012 Peterbilt in the right lane doing between 65-70. The car was shoved into the right side ditch and spun through a road sign and came to rest. The driver of the truck then went to the next exit and double back because he could not back down the highway to the scene. He called for help and was very shaken. He said he did not even see the vehicle before he hit them. His cell phone records show no recent activity and no drugs or alcohol were found.
So that leaves the conclusion that he either dozed or was distracted by something and we may never know that. In an instant two awesome race fans were gone, my cousin Billy Haffer and his friend Tony Pemberthy. Iowa state police report states that all 3 men were not wearing seat belts and officer Spencer said it probably would not have made any difference. I know my cousin would want others to learn how to avoid such an accident and warn others to be more careful. Officer Spencer said this type of accident should never happen on a straight and flat area of the interstate.
It's still a bad dream to me and the only reason I am posting this is to hopefully remind us all to pay more attention when we are driving. We don't need anymore senseless deaths and hopefully the reality of what happened will help others use more caution when we are driving or when we are near loaded semi's.
Again thanks to all who have prayed and showed support for our lost racing friends and our families. It's been a rough racing season we won't soon forget.
~ Rod Haffer
Cousin and best friend of Photo Billy Haffer
