Last week's closure of an Oklahoma-based trucking company left thousands of drivers stranded in the cold across the country, but truckers used social media sites to get their fellow drivers home.
Arrow Trucking Co. shut off thousands of gas cards Dec. 21 and closed up shop the next day, leaving thousands of truckers around the country looking for a way home.
Several truckers said they just couldn't afford $400 in gas to fill up their trucks and get home.
Joe Hill, a Fort Worth native, said he had no choice but to trade in his 18-wheeler for a bus ticket.
"I was in Washington, and they turned off my fuel card, and I was stuck there two days," he said.
Hill said he was told he could turn in his truck at a Daimler location, the owner of the trucks, and get a $200 or a bus ticket home. He chose the bus ticket, but said he had to sleep at bus stations in El Paso and at motels paid for by other truckers to make it home.
The trucking community has used social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to get in touch with stranded truckers and help them home.
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"They've been really supportive," Hill said. "They've been helping with food, with shelter, just everything. I'd give them a big hug and tell them, 'Thank you, and I love them.'"
Hill said he's still owed roughly $1,500 for his last paycheck but has not received it.
"I planned on buying everyone Christmas gifts, for everyone that I care about, but now I can't do that," he said.
Hill said he plans to look for work with another trucking company.
