I just came back from the hospital. My youngest son is a Pepsi route driver. About 2 hours ago, he was jumped, hit in the head, maced, had a gun drawn on him, kicked repeatedly and forced to open the safe containing the bags of money from the vending machines, struck on the side of the head again and abandoned in a dirt pile behind a hotel he was servicing.

Man, even though he will be OK according to the hospital staff, this pisses me off way more than when I got attacked and cut over a year ago!

It's my Kid, and I'm helpless to do anything for him!

I'm still suffering from bad tendon damage from last year (got cut severely)and that damage has almost put me out of the music business. I would gladly trade never being able to play again for reversing the assault on my "little" boy!

Man, what a helpless feeling. The two guys who assaulted him had evidently been watching for a while...probably know his entire route, because they made him open the safe in the truck; then took the keys to the machines. Typically, they hit lots of machines and take the money in them before the company can change the locks.

The hotel security video is pretty bad quality, but captured it all. Seeing my kid get hit made me sick to my stomach. And the two two youngsters who did it were typical kids I see in the warehouse neighborhood every day.

Had a chance to shoot the one who cut me and decided not to do it.

Believe me, I'd have done anything I could to protect my child.

All that for 20 bags of coins...probably $2,000.00, plus, maybe another $2,000 from other area machines.

Man, what I would have paid to protect my child from this!


Russ

Oh, Russ! That's bad! Words can't describe what you and your son are going through. Bad things happen to good people and each time it does it pisses me off. All I can say is that I hope the perpretrators get caught but most importantly, that your son will be fine. Such things can have a lasting effect on someone. Stil, I'm hoping for the best.

Perhaps we can talk more via email. By the way, email me your mailing address, okay?

Taike

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Bo pen nyang.

[This message has been edited by Taike (edited 09-10-2010).]

Hi Russ,
That makes me feel bad too. What sort of a society are we developing into? It's no different here in OZ. We had a policeman shot and killed here two days ago on a simple drug bust.
My thoughts are with you, your boy and family.
Stay cool.
Ray

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Ray The Saint

Thanks a lot, guys. Ben is VERY sore, but made out better than other drivers who were accosted recently; no broken bones...some welts on his head and ribs and cuts on his knee and elbow. His face still stings from the direct hit of mace.

The robbery happened at a hotel right on interstate 75. These guys are probably the same ones involved in two other recent incidents. A cool little Vietnamese driver was stopped three weeks ago by two similar guys, hit in the mouth with a pipe, resulting in a broken nose, cracked cheekbone and the loss of 6 front teeth. They took his machine keys and hit about 100 machines that week-end.

Another driver got paid in cash. The store owner had gotten the change for use in the store. Two similar guys followed the driver out. The store owner suspected trouble and went outside with a gun to catch the two guys with pipes in their hands. He chased them off before they did any damage.

Security cameras show these guys showing up before Ben arrived and hiding in the area where the truck is always parked.

Film is not good enough for an ID.

Thanks, again for the concern.


Russ (frustrated dad) Lay

Thanks for the update, Russ. I'm just glad he didn't suffer the same fate as the Vietnamese driver.

It always amazes me that, not matter how high the cost of a security system, the film quality usually is pitiful. All it takes is a new tape once in a while.

Taike

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Bo pen nyang.

That's awful Russ. How terrifying for him and his family. He was lucky that worse didn't happen to him. That is how people can get killed.

Man, that totally and completely sucks! How terrible. I mean, even the thought that father and son both get attacked by damned thugs in about a year's time, 2 different incidents. It's like lightening hitting the same place twice. Is Lexington in general becoming less safe? So sorry to hear about it Russ. Yeah, it surely could have been worse, but that's little help when you're watching strangers kick your kid just because he's got a little money on him, and not his own money either, just out doing his job.

My boy and I had a long talk this week-end. It took some doing, but I think I have convinced him that there are a couple of bad guys out there targeting Pepsi drivers, but, in general, people are not all inherently bad.

The beer delivery companies put two people on each route, just to prevent things like this.

Ben is going to a distributor-wide meeting tomorrow, and, since there have been two similar incidents in three weeks, he and others are going to insist that the company do something about the situation.

The next incident could be worse.

On top of the possibility of getting hurt during the robbery. 5 or 6 out of about 30 of the drivers are out at any one time with back and other problems due to the nature of the job and the continuous pressure for more production.

Really not a good place to work.


Russ

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 09-13-2010).]

Haven't visited here lately Russ. I'm sorry to hear about your son.
I would probably encourage him to quit or even give him a job!
At the very least he could get a concealed carry permit and defend himself.
Don

Don, because he goes to lots of schools, drivers cannot carry a weapon.

He's looking for something to do right now. We may start a truck driving school in Lexington.

We'll be working on that this week-end. The closest one is Indianapolis.


Thanks for the concern.


Russ

Russ, that really sucks. My adrenelin rises just reading about it. I hope your son finds a safer occupation or, better yet, the company takes appropriate steps to protect their drivers.

Michigan has some of the highest crime rate cities going - Saginaw, Flint, and Detroit for example. I find myself reverting to "combat alert" whenever I have to be in crowds in those places - bad for me and bad for others.

Crime is nothing new, but the level of violence and utter disregard for others prevalent these days is beyond disgusting. Hard to remember sometimes that the vast majority of people remain just decent folks.

I hear you on the helplessness, too. My daughter in FL recently had a Nikon she'd saved a year for and all her ID, credit cards, etc. stolen out of her truck in the middle of the day with people all around. A-holes watched her then broke a window to nab her stuff hidden in the cab. Sad part is the perps used her CC wihin half an hour at a local gas station and tried to pawn the camera at a local place the next day. She orted both these facts to the police, but they never got around to viewing the gas station's security video or questioning the pawn shop. When she called to tell me my first instinct was to grab a flight to Orlando and kick some ass.

Heck of a world we live in, eh?

Peace and safety to you and your family.

Sorry to hear that Russ, I hope your son has a speedy and complete recovery, and hope he doesn't pick up and carry any "residue" from the attack (mental scars).

People are getting angrier and the world is becoming more dangerous every day. Just a couple of hours ago, I saw 2-3 semitruck drivers trying to punch someone sitting in a car, over a road related incident (right of way or something in that silly capacity). The Greek government has truck drivers by the balls over some work related matters and those tried to unload their fury to the car driver.