TikTok trucker dies in crash after posting heartfelt video. ‘Just get me home’
The sun was setting on July 12 as Steven Hull Raley was trucking along Interstate 70 in Kansas. Something he longed for also was on the horizon: home.
Raley, who is known as @Pissed_off_trucker on TikTok, told his viewers about his one wish earlier that day.
“All I care about is getting home … that’s what I care about more than anything else,” the Alabama trucker told viewers while sitting in his truck seat.
For a few hours, it seemed to be a simple, heartfelt video. But when the news broke that 52-year-old Raley died after his truck veered off a Kansas highway after he uploaded his message, the video quickly transformed into a place for Raley’s audience of more than 200,000 viewers to mourn.
“I hope you’re smiling down and I know it wasn’t the home you were talking about but rest easy brother,” one viewer commented. “Your job is done.”
“Crazy his last video is about getting home,” another viewer commented. “Rest in peace.”
It was just after 8:30 p.m. and Raley was about 16 miles west of Colby in Kansas when his 2019 Volvo semi-truck veered off the highway and through a fence, according to an incident report from the Kansas Highway Patrol. The truck continued for another quarter-mile before crashing back through the fence and crossing both sides of the interstate, finally coming to a stop in a nearby ditch.
Raley was taken to Citizens Medical Center and pronounced dead, according to the report. He was wearing a seat belt during the crash, officials said.
Raley’s last words on TikTok the day he died were “Just get me home.” Now, his family is working to fulfill his wish with the help of Truckers Final Mile, an organization that helps fund truckers and their families in difficult times.
“Steven’s family has asked Truckers Final Mile to help get him home to near Birmingham, Alabama to be laid to rest,” the organization said on Facebook.
Raley shared with his followers that his wife and his children were one of his big motivators in life and that trucking wasn’t for “the faint of heart.” He also posted safety tips and lessons for truckers and other drivers on the highways, including a video about how to understand trucking hazards, which got over 1 million views.
“I only knew him through social media but his humor, positivity, love of this industry, the undying love of his bride and children was genuine. He made an impact on others’ lives,” one viewer commented on Facebook. “We lost one of the good ones.”
This story was originally published July 18, 2022 at 7:29 PM with the headline "TikTok trucker dies in crash after posting heartfelt video. ‘Just get me home’."
