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Truckers threaten to strike after driver’s death on the CBBT

Posted at 11:23 PM, May 21, 2014
and last updated 2014-05-21 23:23:47-04

It was a vigil that soon turned into a call for truckers to strike.

Most of the truckers at the vigil knew Daawuud Hakim, who died Thursday when his 18-wheeler fell off of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

"It's definitely heartbreaking to know we lost one of our own in such a tragic manner," said George Berry, a truck driver. "We understand the perils that we face day in and day out in this industry. It's treacherous."

Hakim's fiance nodded in agreement as she heard his friends and coworkers talk about how they feel they deserve better treatment on the job.

They plan on striking because six days after Hakim's death, they feel they haven't gotten proper answers from Big Daddy Trucking, the company he was doing a job for that day.

Franchetta Ajibola says she never got a call from Big Daddy Trucking with any condolences for losing the love of her life.

His trucker friends want to know more about what went wrong. Police say Hakim's 18-wheeler hit a work truck on the northern end of the bridge, jackknifed and then went over a guard rail.

For two days, Hakim's body was still in the truck's cabin at the bottom of the bay.
The other drivers want to know if the company is at fault in any way, and until they find out, they're prepared to no longer drive.