Trucker’s final actions possibly saved lives

by Today's Trucking

KINGSTON, Ont. – The family of a truck driver who died along Hwy. 401 near Kingston, Ont., Oct. 24, wants people to know his final actions potentially saved other motorists’ lives.

Gary Demars, a 50-year trucking veteran, suffered a heart attack behind the wheel while hauling a load of cars. Before dying, he apparently steered his truck off the road into the ditch, avoiding other traffic.

Gary Demars does a walkaround of his final load before suffering a heart attack shortly after. (Photo: Supplied)

“Uncle Gary, by all witness accounts and statements from the O.P.P., performed a huge task of maneuvering his rig full of cars out of the middle lane and off the roadbed into a low ditch swamp area, thus bringing his rig to a stop safely with no one harmed,” his nephew David Wharram told Today’s Trucking.

When the first to arrive on the scene made it to the cab, Demars was already deceased.

Gary Demars steered his truck safely off the road while suffering a fatal heart attack.
(Photo: Supplied)

“I really think, by all accounts, Gary did a selfless thing by getting it off the road to save others,” said Wharram. “That’s my uncle Gary – he was always a polite and pleasant guy who’d give the shirt off his back. The family is heartbroken, yet very, very proud of him.”

Wharram is also a truck driver, with 35 years of experience. He said his uncle leaves behind his wife Josie, who was disabled from hip surgery and worked hard to support his family. He was 72 years old.


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  • What people don’t know about how transport truck drivers think and feel about other road users shows in what this driver’s final act which may and as it turns out probably save many lives, eventhough he heroically gave us his own life. May he rest in peace, and may his family remember him as the hero he was.

  • 72 years of age is just too young. The average person does not realize what “most” professional truck drivers have to deal with. Constant awareness of the surroundings, all the while maintaining safe driving habits. Avoiding the stupidity and carelessness of other drivers, both trucks and cars, is always there. Eating habits, sleep depravation, general health concerns are always a priority for the professional truck driver.
    Avoiding contact is always paramount to a driver, even though it is an instant reaction rather than a plan.
    May Mr. Demars rest in peace, and that his memory be a constant blessing for all who knew him.

  • That is the difference between a real truck driver and the ones out there now real truck drivers would do anything to try and save lives even if it meant there own