Brunswick County tow truck driver hit on the side of Highway 17 while working
BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A tow truck driver from Brunswick County is recovering in the hospital tonight after he was hit by a vehicle while working on the side of the road in Shallotte.
“Do not drink and drive, slow down and get off your phones.”
That is the message from Kaye Bennette, whose world turned upside down when her husband John Bennette, a tow truck driver, was struck by a vehicle while towing a car off of Highway 17.
“Right where that happened there was 3 lanes, it was a turn lane and two regular lanes, and my husband was off the road. A drunk driver had passed another car weaving and so they slowed down and was following, and they saw him hit my husband, it was broad daylight. Then, the driver left the scene,” says Kaye Bennette when describing what witnesses told her happened at the scene.
John Bennette, who is currently at Grand Strand Medical Center in ICU, started his truck driving and roadside assistance years ago to help people when they were in need.
“John wanted to start a business where women who worked or had small children and couldn’t go to a dealership to be worked on, they could call us, and we could go to them. He did it fairly, he kept the prices reasonable,” Bennette explained.
North Carolina has the “Move Over Law,” where drivers are required to move over to the next lane when law enforcement, emergency and utility workers are on the side of the road.
Kaye Bennette wants people to follow the law to make sure workers like her husband, make it home safely.
“When you see those lights on the side of the road, move over. I don’t care if it’s a tow truck driver, an emergency worker, policeman, move over. Because that person wants to come home to their families and their families want them to come home,” Bennette says.
She does not want more people to become a heartbreaking statistic.
“Triple A says that one….one tow truck driver every 6 days is killed by someone as they’re working on the side of the road, that’s gotta change,” Bennette said.
According to arrest warrants, the driver of the other vehicle, Brian Richard Gomes, is charged with felony hit and run and driving while impaired.
As for John Bennette, he is currently out of sedation but is not responding.
