The driver of a rogue semi truck that barrelled down the wrong way of a busy Edmonton highway Monday suffered from diabetes -- and was likely in a hypoglycemic state when he lost control of the vehicle, his brother told CTV Edmonton Tuesday.
Mark Santos, 25, was killed after his truck travelled eastbound in the westbound lane of the Yellowhead Trail on Monday. After 20 frantic minutes in the wrong lane, his truck hit the median, spun out of control and plunged off the overpass. It burst into flames instantly.
"When he goes low he doesn't remember anything," his brother Jordan Santos said. "He doesn't know what to do. He's just someone that's breathing with his eyes open."
His family said there is no way Santos would intentionally aim for other vehicles.
"He would not hurt another human being at all," Jordan added. "I know him and he's the most respectful guy I've ever met in my life."
Another truck driver said Santos failed to respond to many requests on his CB radio from other truckers to turn around.
Doug Fox said he was minutes behind Santos' truck and was listening to the frantic calls for the driver to slow down.
Santos never responded.
"You could hear the guys on the CB hollering at this guy that he is going the wrong way," he said.
Fox said even after 28 years experience of being a truck driver, this is only the second time CB chatter unnerved him.
"Nothing came back at all (on the radio)," he said. "It's weird, unless the guy was really confused or maybe having medical problems or something."
No other driver was seriously injured during the accident, but many drivers had to swerve their vehicles into ditches to avoid the truck.
Police spokesperson Karen Carlson said Tuesday they are investigating Santos' past.
"We need to go back into that person's history to see if he had any medical conditions that could be responsible for this, to determine if there were any psychological conditions," she said.
Police said early investigation results show the truck began behaving erratically about 25 kilometres west of Edmonton.
Linda Kuhn, a spokesperson from Canada Bread, said Santos was hired as a third-party carrier to haul some bread products.
"We have had a relationship with the carrier for a number of years," she said. "There have not been any major safety incidents to date."
The company said they are shocked to hear of the driver's tragic end.
"We're obviously very saddened by the death of this individual," Kuhn said. "We've had a relationship with the carrier for many years and we're saddened."
A trucker who hauls for the company said the man was working for a local contractor part-time for the past few months.
"It's just unbelievable," Joe Adryowski said. "They didn't think something like this would happen and for him to go that far down the highway. It's really unbelievable."
With files from CTV Edmonton's Scott Roberts
