Another Ohio Truck Driver Blacks Out On Heroin While Behind The Wheel

by Jana Ritter - Published: 8/21/2017

It’s been just over a month since Ohio truck driver, Kristopher Phoenix, was arrested after overdosing on heroin with his fuel tanker still running at a BP gas station. Then last Friday, a second Ohio truck driver was arrested after injecting heroin and then passing out while driving on Interstate-74.  

                                   

According to police, 28-year-old Scotty R. Kinmon was traveling westbound on I-74 when he lost control of his tractor-trailer and it began drifting across the lanes of the highway. The semi then began to jack-knife before hitting a guard rail and rolling backwards across the road. Fortunately, no other vehicles were involved in the incident but officials were forced to close the Interstate between Montana Avenue and North Bend Road for several hours. Immediately after the rig came to a stop, a number of quick thinking motorists pulled over and ran to the truck driver’s aid. Together, they managed to pull Kinmon out of the cab and then administered CPR until first responders arrived on the scene.

                                   

A deputy from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and a Green Township Police Officer were among the first to arrive and quickly discovered that Kinmon had passed out at the wheel after shooting up an unknown amount of heroin. After paramedics administered Narcan (a drug used to reverse overdoses), Kinmon recovered and was fully responsive. He was transported to Mercy West Hospital for evaluation and then taken into custody at the Hamilton County Justice Center. He is charged with OVI, failure to maintain control of his vehicle and operation of a commercial motor vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance.

Police have also since revealed that Kinman already had a warrant out for his arrest from a similar incident involving a heroin overdose in his truck on July 24. Authorities say this is growing problem in Ohio and not just limited to truck drivers. In July, a motorist couple was arrested after ingesting heroin and crashing into a semi-truck, forcing officials to shut down Interstate-75. Police attribute the increasing number of heroin related accidents to the state’s growing opioid epidemic and say that addicts usually shoot up immediately after they purchase their drugs, which is often inside their vehicle.

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