Joey Merkley Jr. is lucky to be alive after an incident on Rt. 490 January 23, 2020 near Chili.
Merkley was loading up a disabled vehicle on 490 westbound in Chili near the Paul road overpass, when a dump truck failed to move over and maintain their lane, crossing over the white line and striking the flatbed Merkley was operating.
Upon impact, the dump truck, riding up the side of the tow truck, jolted the flatbed tow vehicle causing it to strike Merkley. He was immediately thrown from the force of the impact into the ditch along side the road.
The dump truck rolled over into the median.
“Luckily I was on the passenger side of the deck undoing a tie down strap,” says Merkley.
“When he hit the deck, it was pushed into me, causing my ankle to roll under the deck, and then the deck hit my other leg and I was thrown into the ditch.”
Merkley, 28, has been a tow operator for about 8 years, he says he has not been able to put any pressure on his left leg and is disabled at this time. His doctors have told him he has a high ankle sprain with a possible fracture. He is currently in a cast from the knee down to reduce the swelling.
Worker’s Comp will only cover a percentage of his lost wages, while he is at home recovering. He is unsure if surgery will be needed as he is waiting to see an orthopedic surgeon for tendon and ligament issues and is presently on bed rest.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Merkley. Money raised will go towards his lost wages to help provide for his family while he is out of work.
He says he has had a lot of support from the towing industry, locally and in other states and Canada.
“The towing industry is more of a family than a job.”
Merkley’s wife Alexxa got a call from her husband while he was laying in the ditch.
“By the tone of his voice I knew something was wrong. The first thing he said to me was don’t freak out. He told me what happened and that he was currently laying in the ditch. I immediately burst into tears, I was worried he was paralyzed or worse. I couldn’t control the tears,” said Alexxa.
Merkley has been married for 6 years. He says people need to pay attention more when they see tow operators on the side of the road working.
“Slow down and move over, not only is it the law, but my family wants to see me for dinner at the end of the night. If you can’t do it for your own safety, do it for mine.”
