Strung out trucker busted on a ‘West Coast Turnaround’

A truck driver who drove straight from Seattle to Deerfield, Massachusetts without stopping to rest was arrested Tuesday at the end of his trip.


Apparently a “despondent” truck driver got locked out of his rig, then became “combative” and struggled with officers at a Circle K in Deerfield, Mass.

After his arrrest, the driver was taken to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield.

But instead of big black pills (West Coast Turnarounds), this trucker admitted to using crystal meth, LSD and cocaine.

It’s amazing he made it all the way across the country without getting caught, with that combination. Thankfully, he didn’t kill anyone along the way!

Because the trucker has been summonsed to court, his identity has not been released.

For anyone that’s not familiar, a West Coast Turnaround is an old trucker slang for taking amphetamines, often in black pills. After being hyped up on speed, drivers could drive from “coast to coast” without stopping to sleep.

Usually, truckers popping pills would be “on a mission”, either transporting a “hot load” or just piling up the miles to get a big paycheck. But this driver’s trailer was empty. Hmmmm.

The next “classic” truck driving video mentions the pills, and include this anecdote:

“…whatcha carrying in that cigarette pack? I said I got my second driver and he’s gonna drive all the way back. It’s a big black pill so long and round, driver it’s a West Coast Turnaround, it’s for the fever, that old Freightliner Fever”.

MassLive