TikTok’s ‘pissed off trucker’ dies in Kansas accident; all he cared about was ‘getting home’
The only thing Steven Hull Raley really cared about was "getting home," he said July 12 in the last video he posted on TikTok, where he had close to 200,000 followers and went by the username @pissed_off_trucker.
He didn't make it.
The 52-year-old trucker from Alabaster, Ala., was killed about 1:35 p.m. that afternoon when the semi-trailer he was driving crashed about 16 miles west of Colby on Interstate 70 in northwest Kansas, according to a Kansas Highway Patrol accident report.
Driver alone when semi veered off, on I-70 near Colby, Kansas
Raley was alone driving his semi-trailer westbound on I-70 when it left the roadway on its right, went through a Kansas Department of Transportation fence and continued west for a quarter mile before coming back through that fence, the report said.
It said the semi then crossed I-70's eastbound and westbound lanes before coming to rest in the ditch south of the highway.
Raley had been wearing a seat belt, the report said. Circumstances of the crash remain under investigation.
'War eagle!' AlabamaRaley was a big Auburn fan
In messages that were sometimes profane, the colorful Raley — known as "Dozer" — talked on TikTok about topics that included current events, life on the road and the family to which he looked forward to returning.
Haley started off one recent video by saying, "Just cruising along today, thinking — which I do a lot of — which scares quite a few people."
He talked in that video about how his youngest son, Matthew, who goes by the nickname of "Meat," is to be married in October.
"It's kind of an emotional thing that your baby boy's getting married, but I'm proud of him," Haley said. "He has turned into quite a young man."
In another video, Raley highlighted the difference between the mascot and battle cry of Auburn, Ala.-based Auburn University.
He stressed that the "tiger" is Auburn's mascot and the "war eagle" is its battle cry, not its mascot.
Haley closed by joking about one of Auburn's competitors — Alabama and its elephant mascot, Big Al — saying: "At least I ain't got a floppy-eared elephant running around, with his trunk and (expletive). War eagle!"
Truckers Final Mile gathering donations for family
To help fulfill his wish of returning home, the organization Truckers Final Mile indicated on its Facebook page that it was collecting donations on behalf of his family.
The organization is asking people to donate at www.truckersfinalmile.org and to write "Dozer" in the note/message space when it opens.
Tim Hrenchir can be reached at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: TikTok trucker Steve Hull Raley from Alabama dies in Kansas accident
