At 1:00 AM Jonathan Merritt stepped out of his truck to enter a Mississippi truck stop to pay for fuel. Always cautious, he parked in a well- lit area and locked his truck. After paying his bill he walked to his truck. Suddenly, he was struck from behind. Two men began beating him until he fell to the ground and lost unconsciousness. When he awoke, the truck stop manager was standing over him.
Earlier the manager had noticed the two vagrant men in the area. The thieves had taken Merritt’s wallet containing cash, driver’s license and his credit/debit/fuel cards. As the manager ran to help, the men disappeared into a nearby wooded area. Both law enforcement and medical personnel were called.
Having his money and personal items stolen was frustrating. The physical pain from the altercation was excruciating. After being transported to a local hospital, Jonathan was diagnosed with a broken nose, a damaged muscle in his eyelid and a swollen skull. After a stay of 2 days in the medical facility, he was sent to an eye specialist in Atlanta, then released to home care. There he spent the next 3 months recovering from his injuries.
NCI Leasing Assistant Director, Kim Obholz arranged to pick up his truck securing it and his belongings at the Irving yard. Safety department representative, Jetta Hendricks, called him frequently checking on his condition throughout his recovery. Though his healing period was long and painful, Jonathan was delighted when he was released from his doctor’s care.
Merritt cautions everyone to be aware of your surroundings and be alert for potential ambushes. “The financial struggles from having no income during my healing process has been the most difficult. Of course, losing my wallet was hard, but the following weeks without income were even harder. I want to thank Director of Leasing, Rick Ham and Director of Operations, Al Love for working with me to insure that I would be able to maintain my lease truck and to have adequate income to catch up on my bills at home,” he stated.