ROWAN COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — One year after tow truck driver Troy Caldwell was struck and killed while working on Interstate 64, dozens of drivers from across the state came to honor his memory and call for justice.
Caldwell was tending to a vehicle when he was fatally struck by a semi truck. The driver responsible remains at large and has not been apprehended.
"He's still on the run," said Desiree Lykins, Caldwell's daughter.
The memorial service was a bittersweet moment for Lykins, who remembers her father's passion for his work.
"When I was younger, he would, he'd take me on calls with him, and I, that was his proud moment. He'd get in that truck. He'd flip them locks on, smile from ear to ear," Lykins said.
"It was his true love," she said.
The same truck that Troy used every day to get to work led the memorial service on the highway where he lost his life.
"This has been one of the hardest years and having everybody come together for him it's amazing. I just can't put it into words," Lykins said.
The loss has devastated his family, who say Caldwell was simply trying to help someone in need.
"It's really it was his lifestyle pretty much, and he was confident in everything. That's what eats me up because my dad didn't deserve what he went through and. He was just trying to help somebody on the side of the road and it took his life," Lykins said.
The owner of Jerry's Towing and Roadside Assistance, Kenneth Jerry Cantrell, says the towing community is pushing for more safety precautions following Caldwell's death.
"The towing industry it's a family man. It's one for all, and all for one. What happened to troy, it hit everybody. Because it could be any one of those guys too," he said.
Tow truck drivers at the event told me there are plenty of times where their trucks get hit, or mirrors get clipped, and oftentimes it doesn't get reported because all it would do is raise their insurance rates.
"They're killing us, they are running over us daily," Cantrell added.
"It's been horrible for our family," Lykins said.
Lykins hopes memorials like these remind the public that things need to be done to make sure nobody else loses a loved one the same way she did.
"Justice is our main thing," Lykins said.
