Cincinnati News Channel 12 WKRC

Addicted Truck Driver Caught On Camera

http://www.wkrc.com/News/Local/story...E-3158C37F7F67


LAST UPDATE: 11/6/2006 10:59:33 PM


Every year across the Tri-State, there are thousands of tragic crashes involving drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol.


The chances you could be killed or injured in a crash increase dramatically if the impaired driver is behind the wheel of an 80,000 pound tractor trailer.


In a story you'll see only on Local 12, Rich Jaffe found alert drivers on I-71 recently got a high trucker off the road. It's amazing he hadn't killed anyone.


The ride to jail for Ira Lainhart was a lucky break for lots of people, including this extremely addicted truck driver.


Lainhart was pulled over on I-71 in June after other motorists called to say he was running people off the road. Cruiser cam recorded the DUI stop, and the trooper's conversation.


Todd Bailey, Ohio State Patrol: "You just need to be honest with me, okay, cause you got 80,000 pounds of steel underneath you, and these cars. I don't want to handle a fatal, what are you using to stay awake and drive?"


Ira Lainhart admitted he wasn't trying to stay awake. Instead, he told the trooper that a few hours earlier he'd shot up with morphine.


Todd Bailey: "You shoot morphine? Wow."


Making matters even worse, the veteran trucker admitted shooting morphine regularly for 15 years.


Todd Bailey: "You're under arrest for possession of morphine without a prescription."


At their Lexington home, Ira Lainhart's mother told me she's known for years her truck driving son is a drug addict.


" I was afraid he would wreck and kill himself or hurt somebody," said Ruby Lainhart, trucker's mom. "That's what I worried about."


"It's a DUI, and we have a lot of DUI cases," said Rachel Hutzel, Warren County prosecutor. "But when I hear he's been using for 15 years, and he's using for 15 years and he's driving a big truck, that's scary, that is really scary."


Trucking industry sources report only one to three percent of all fatal truck accidents in the country involve under the influence professional drivers. But with so much weight and so little stopping power, semi crashes are devastating. Since 2004, Ohio reports 298 crashes involving DUI truckers. In Kentucky the number is 364, and in Indiana, 152. Increasing regulation on truckers includes regular drug testing to keep roadways safer. Ira Lainhart proved that doesn't always work. When arrested, he drove for this Georgetown company.


Rich Jaffe: " The general manager of P & J Freight Lines tells me everyone at the company was shocked to hear that Ira Lainhart is a drug addict. He tells me that in the three years Lainhart worked for the company, he was drug tested at least six or seven times, and always turned up clean."


"Now, I'm not saying they didn't do it, I'm just saying I don't see how anybody could be on drugs and not show up in their hair or skin, or in the blood or something," said Ruby Lainhart. "It had to show up somewhere."


Because of Lainhart's arrest, federal transportation officials visited P & J last month. They found no irregularities in personnel records or testing procedures, leaving many wondering how an addict kept driving for years.


"He isn't just a casual user or a guy who just started using, he admits, fifteen years of use, heavy use," said Ruby Lainhart. "And we have a trucking industry that did not police him, at least not adequately, and we have the public that actually policed this."


Lainhart was convicted on felony possession of narcotics, but driving a semi while on morphine only brought a misdemeanor DUI charge. After 180 days in jail, this addict will go into a treatment program, then probation. The conviction cost him all driving privileges for three years. His truck driving license is gone forever.


"It's a good thing it happened," said Ruby Lainhart. "I'm glad. Maybe something good will come out of it, cause I asked him if he'd learned his lesson and he said yeah."


According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, you should be prepared to take evasive action if you see another driver who might be under the influence. Never try to pass such a vehicle. If it's coming head on, move to the shoulder, blink your lights and use your horn.


Most importantly, try and get the license plate and call 911.

 

Yet another person in the running for the Darwin award.

 

I am amazed this guy could have gotten away with this for so many years. I don't understand why anyone would risk a career for drugs. I had one carrier to tell me, a few years ago, that they had a lot of drivers who fail the drug test at orientation. I don't recall the statistics this individual gave me, but it was astounding! :shock: