Illinois drivers honor deceased driver with 150-truck procession

After Alyssa Van Meter, a truck driver working for O’Hare Towing, was murdered in her home, drivers in the area came together to honor her memory. On December 22, 2012, a procession of more than 150 trucks followed Van Meter to her resting place - a cemetery in Lombard, Illinois.

“She deserves nothing less than this,” Jessica Baker, fellow driver at O’Hare Towing, told the Daily Herald. “Anyone who encounters this, I think will be touched.  She accepted every challenge and never backed down from it.”

Baker and other friends used their trucks to help transport Van Meter’s casket.

Van Meter was an influential member of the trucking industry as a woman who used her profession to defy gender norms. She reveled in the fact that police were often surprised to see her pull up at the scene of a car accident, loved helping people, and worked to get more women involved in the trucking industry.

Although many of the drivers in the 150-truck procession did not know Van Meter personally, their participation shows the bond that many CDL-licensed professionals feel with other members of the industry.

Illinois drivers honor deceased driver with 150-truck procession

Thursday, December 27th, 2012