Hagerstown crowds welcome second national truck convoy to Washington County

A second truck convoy protesting government mandates rolled into Washington County late Friday afternoon, with the rigs blasting their horns to elated crowds that gathered to watch the procession along U.S. 40.

The People's Convoy, arriving from California along Interstate 70, exited onto Interstate 81, then traveled north to the U.S. 40 interchange where they got on the two-lane highway to head to the Hagerstown Speedway for the night.

The drivers met up with other truckers at the speedway who arrived there Thursday evening as part of a Northeast convoy. The truckers planned to stay in their rigs overnight Friday before leaving for the nation's capital on Saturday.

Convoy organizers say they plan to stop in the Washington area without entering D.C. proper to send a message that it's time to reopen the country after the COVID-19 pandemic. They said the pandemic has been a "rough road" on spiritual, emotional, physical and financial levels.

A large crowd gathered at the Sheetz store at U.S. 40 and Greencastle Pike on Friday afternoon to wait for the caravan. The store's parking lot and other accessory roads near the store were full of vehicles, and people stood along the highway to wait for the convoy.

A large crowd also gathered just up the road on a hillside next to Emanuel Baptist Temple.

John and Yelena Wagner of Littlestown, Pa., in Adams County stood with the crowd at the Sheetz store. The couple said they went to Chambersburg, Pa., Friday in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the Northeast convoy. But they were not sure of the route, and when they didn't see it, they headed to Washington County.

John Wagner said he has a big problem with government mandates. If a government wants to implement such a rule with legislation, that's one thing. But to just hand down commands is not the way to do it, he said.

"The mandate thing is like dictatorship. This is supposed to be a free country," Wagner said.

Jessie Toms of Waynesboro, Pa., traveled to the county to see the convoy and show her support. Toms said she, too, has a big problem with mask mandates, like the one that was imposed by the school system where she lives to help control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Toms said she believes it should be her choice, not the school system, to decide whether her child should wear a mask to school.

Carol Willison of Hancock said the convoy made her remember the 1970s energy crisis and how truckers at that time protested high fuel prices. She came to support the truckers and their concerns again.

"This (is) actually the first time of something like this that I've ever been to in my life," said Willison. "It's just time for America to unite."

Explaining her frustration with the world today, Willison said she never watches national news on TV.

"I haven't watched it for years," said Willison, saying she opts instead to turn on a program that's cheerful.

Background: Protest convoy rolls into Hagerstown Speedway on it's way to Washington, D.C.

More: Washington County Board of Education, law enforcement ready for truck convoy's arrival

Truck after truck passed the intersection on the way to the speedway. With nightfall arriving, the procession slowed to a crawl as the rigs slowly made their way into the track. People gathered all along the route, snapping photos, pumping their arms in hopes to get a blast from a truck horn and waving political and American flags.

A Maryland State Police spokesman said there were no major problems, other than a pedestrian who was "bumped" by a vehicle along U.S. 40 in a minor incident. Westbound traffic on U.S. 40 was not closed to allow the convoy in, although motorists were in for a slow ride if they got caught in the procession, the spokesman said.

It was unclear how many trucks participated.

Later in the night, U.S. 40 at the entrance to the track was clogged with traffic and people. A guitar player using an amplifier played music while Washington County Sheriff's Office deputies directed traffic at the entrance.

Inside the track grounds, Brian McMullen was sitting in his rig when he agreed to answer a few questions from a Herald-Mail Media reporter. McMullen, an independent trucker, said he traveled from northeast Maryland to join Friday's convoy.

"This is incredible. There are no words for this," McMullen said.

When asked what he hoped the convoy would achieve, he had one word: "Notification."

Notification to authorities that the people need to be heard, he said.

Truck driver Duane Burtoft of Pittsburgh came down with his wife, but they used a car.

"I love it," Burtoft said of the convoy.

Burtoft said he is upset over mandates related to the trucking industry. He mentioned "electronic log books" that often don't work and "stupid DOT (department of transportation) inspections."

He also vented over a rule that truckers are no longer able to sleep in their rigs on highway ramps.

"So what are you going to do?" Burtoft said.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: A second national truck convoy to protest government mandates arrives