CATER COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — In September we reported on Troy Caldwell who lost his life on I-64 while on a towing job. He was 54 years old. People who knew him say he always had a smile. Hundreds came out to his funeral services to pay their respect. Now one friend is working to do more in his honor.
Bubba Johnson, the owner and operator of Bubba’s Towing and Recovery, said, "Considering we don't know what kind of justice we're gonna get for Troy's death that maybe if we can get this Troy's law passed and get this going then it'll be a way to keep Troy's memory alive and maybe his death won’t be such a vain."
Bubba is working to make the roads safer. He wants to see legislators pass "Troy's Law," which he wants to keep drivers safer by changing emergency lights on trucks to make them more visible. With his wife and son on the roads too, this family wants to take all the measures they can. They want others to know, too.
"They don't really see how dangerous it can be," Bubba’s son Gunner Johnson, said. "You know when something is traveling 70 miles an hour and you're sitting still underneath a car you can’t really watch your back all the time."
The last time LEX 18 was in Carter County at Bubba's Towing and Recovery, we told you how they want to see those lights change on the trucks so that drivers can be more alert on the side of the road. They’re continuing to talk with state legislators who say that they also want to see this happen.
Kentucky District 96 Representative Patrick Flannery said, "They’re I think wanting to look at ways maybe could a different light color be used that may cause motorist to slow down, pump the breaks and where you would have fewer fatalities and injuries for folks that are performing roadside assistance. And just maybe look at other things that could be done to improve all that."
"What other states are doing -- they’ve got rear facing only blue lights mixed in with their amber lights and there just for on the side of the road when you’re working on an accident or loading on the side of a very busy road," Bubba said. "As soon as you get loaded and get done the blue lights go off and you proceed with just your amber lights on."
Since Troy Caldwell's death, safety means a little more to Kentucky's trucking community.
"Since Troy's passing it's been a real eye opener for all of us here. And the following days after Troy’s tragic death it was a lot harder to go out and go jump in that truck with the enthusiasm, we'd once had to go do the call just like what troy was on when he lost his life,” said Bubba.
The entire Johnson family gets out on the roads to help people that need assistance. They have each other’s backs and want to see the law have theirs.
